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Turkey & ticks

Evening all,

Last Saturday, I took my son turkey hunting on the south Platte river. There was a tick infestation to put it conservatively. We did a body check at the trailhead but it appears the ticks were on our packs and subsequently in my car. Despite shedding all gear in the garage it appears there is still some in my vehicle which latched on to us and are now in the house. Any suggestions (bug bomb?) to rid my vehicle?

Sit in your car until they are all on you. Then exit the car and pick them off. Of course, a better approach would have been to use permethrin on your clothes and gear, including blinds, before going out. There are always a LOT of ticks in the river valleys during turkey season. You can't dodge them all, but treating everything before hand will help.

Ziek, I’ll be applying permethrin for sure next time. My kids and wife are somewhat traumatized:)

I know your pain. Several years ago out at Bonny, I set up my wife's blind in some thick brush. I noticed more ticks than usual, but even with everything being treated, the ticks were crawling all over, inside her blind when it started warming up the next morning. They were falling from the ceiling like rain. She's such a trooper, she stuck it out for the morning hunt. We re-treated everything again as soon as I took it down, and checked all clothing and gear BEFORE putting it in the truck. Between the ticks, rattlesnakes, and poison ivy, it's not her favorite hunt out there.

I would permethrin the vehicle now. Its not just a repellent, it kills them. Walmart has a big can of Sawyers (yellow) for $11.

THIS is why I'm not a huge springtime turkey hunter :)

I don’t understand why people don’t use permethrin. I sprayed my clothes and boots with it a few days before my turkey hunt, and will do same on upcoming PD shoot. Have done so for years, and had zero ticks.

This year I sprayed the inside of my blind on the bottom 2 feet (along with clothes, which I always do) and only saw one tick in 10 days of hunting. And I'm in a tick-y place in Nebraska.

Permethrin is amazing stuff. I have literally watch ticks die crawling up me after treating my clothes with it. Couple years back while working on deer stands in Oklahoma I came home and picked over 15 ticks off my person. Went to wally world sprayed clothes that night. The next day I was in the exact same spots working and only found one tick crawling on me when I got home.

HOWEVER, its a pesticide and please read the label before using it and follow that label!! I've watched idiots hose their clothing down with that stuff while they wearing said clothes and take off hunting immediately like they were using deet.

Weather must be just right this year, as I've hunted probably 7 or 8 seasons out there and only seen one tick. Kansas, though, it's like a tick a minute!

I have yet to see a single tick on my property north of Colorado Springs and I have also seen 0 at my spot in SE Colorado. I must just be lucky.

I stopped at Wally world to buy a bottle of Swayers on my way to Nebraska the first week of season with plans to spray my cloths when I got there, but that never happened as I always seemed to be busy hunting or fixing fence. Did not find the time to sray anything prior to hunting Colorado either and luckly so far have not found a single tick this year which is really unusual for me as I am usually a magnet for them.

I’m going PD shooting in South Dakota in three weeks. Already have my clothes sprayed. I’ve got better things to do that fight tick born diseases.

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