Tick Bites

[Happy]

I used to think that ticks were everywhere up here. Every deer I killed was covered in them. Then one day my wife was helping skin one and noticed that they had 6 legs. Ticks have 8. She has a degree in wildlife management so it set off a bell in her head. Turns out they are deer louse. They bite and work an area over but do not bury their heads in their host. So what many think are ticks are actually not. Now we have ticks still but not as bad as I originally thought. Permithrin has helped a lot for me and especially with chiggers. Those things love me.

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[grayfox]

I'm going to try the 10% permethrin mix as suggested and carry it in the truck to spray before hitting the woods. I'm a true believer in Permethrin as well.

Not good.

Spray your clothes BEFORE you go hunting and let the permethrin DRY before you put them on. Sprayed that way your clothes should last about 3 weeks.Treat again if still hunting/in the woods. You don't want the permethrin on your skin when it's wet.

What he said & I also use bug spray right before I leave the truck. Also I use the Elimitick pants & shirt from Gamehide.  Another thing to do is take a bath after you get home as quick as you can hopefully before they dig into your skin too deep if possible. Been doing it this way for several years now & I have not had any problem with ticks.

[Fieldturkey]

I was talking to an old logger in Elizabeth City the other day and asked him the same question. He told me he puts a small amount of diesel fuel on his boots and has zero ticks on him. He swore they couldn't stand it. If it's really bad he will put a little on his pants. You're going to stink but it may be a solution. I haven't tried it yet but this guy has been around and seemed like the kind of old breed that knows a thing or two.

[HFultzjr]

Read the thread about making your own permethrin.
I then apply to EVERYTHING!
Socks, boots, gloves, caps, handkerchiefs, face mask, blind, chairs, in side pockets, packs..EVERTHING!
Or you could try a "soak mix" in place of spraying some items and spray the rest.
If I'm going to be in a blind, I'll even spray the ground inside.
I also spray the decoys.
I repeat every 4 weeks.
Just remember, it only takes 1 tick to make it back to the car/truck, to bite you later.
Don't forget the turkey. They can have them on them also.
Dang things are a real pain when you're a "tick magnet", such as me..........LOL

[worth612000]

I got one about 6 years ago that latched on the middle of my back. It made a place with a partial ring. Dr. Didn't do anything to treat it. Till this day there is a very weird and permanent spot where it bit me.

[rifleman]

I have been bitten by ticks many times but to date no ill effects.  Once removed the site itches and is raised for a long time.  A fellow told me that the best way to get them off is to saturate a cotton ball with nail polish remover and fasten over the bite site with a band aid.  He says with 10-15 minutes the tick will back out and you are none the worse.  I have used the permethrin and it does work but you must remember to use.

[Double B]

You don't want any ticks on you at all.  Use the permithrin.   I had Rocky Mountain spotted fever a few years ago due to a tick bite in turkey season.   In fact I had several tick bites that year.  The fever didn't show up until Memorial Day weekend.   Bad stuff.   I'm a permithrin user now. 

[Cut N Run]

Been Permithrin user for several years with much success & very few tick bites.  I bust a lot of brush in my work too.

Here http://tic-nc.org/  is a great link on which ticks carry what diseases and what to do if you get bit.  I got the brochure from the local health department.  I hope it helps.

Jim

[Farmboy27]

Have had more ticks dug into me than I care to count and have had the "bullseye" lots of times. No Lyme disease yet. Not sure that washing your clothes in a chemical that repels or kills something as hardy as a tick is any safer than taking your chances with a tick bite.

[sixbird]

The only way I know of to completely avoid ticks during turkey season is to not go turkey hunting.

That being said, I have noticed that they seem to have a proclivity for high grasses. If I walk through vegetation that looks "tick like "I am mediately check  my clothing, and shake myself off a bit.

also a good excuse to have your wife thoroughly check you at home when you are done hunting. You could always mention to your wife that it is a good idea for you to check her as well.

Any man who loves his wife should check her for ticks a couple of times a week, at least...If she comes down with Lymes, she could end up with headaches, and lose interest in, well, everything...   

[BB30]

There's a pretty high concentration of them where I hunt but it varies some year to year. Some places a quick walk seems to leave you crawling w em.
Here's the thing, we hunt turkeys by learning behavior/patterns. Ticks have certain characteristics too. One is they aren't mosquitos, they never instantly bite n are on you a bit before they latch on. Most my hunts I simply strip my clothes off outside than check myself for em inside. Leaving clothes hanging outside. I often forget or don't spray n yet don't wind up wearing many.
Yes it's something to worry about, especially w the health concerns but I'm more concerned w areas that have chiggers

Me too, I have gotten into chiggers really bad twice and that was enough for me. I don't know if there is anything worse than a chigger bite especially when you have a couple hundred of them on you. I really am not sure I have ever been that miserable in my life.

I was painting property lines one summer in college for my summer job and got into them bad one time. Had around 170-180 chigger bites on me. I was literally miserable for two weeks. Was the absolute worst itch I have ever experienced.

[kjnengr]

There's a pretty high concentration of them where I hunt but it varies some year to year. Some places a quick walk seems to leave you crawling w em.
Here's the thing, we hunt turkeys by learning behavior/patterns. Ticks have certain characteristics too. One is they aren't mosquitos, they never instantly bite n are on you a bit before they latch on. Most my hunts I simply strip my clothes off outside than check myself for em inside. Leaving clothes hanging outside. I often forget or don't spray n yet don't wind up wearing many.
Yes it's something to worry about, especially w the health concerns but I'm more concerned w areas that have chiggers

Me too, I have gotten into chiggers really bad twice and that was enough for me. I don't know if there is anything worse than a chigger bite especially when you have a couple hundred of them on you. I really am not sure I have ever been that miserable in my life.

I was painting property lines one summer in college for my summer job and got into them bad one time. Had around 170-180 chigger bites on me. I was literally miserable for two weeks. Was the absolute worst itch I have ever experienced.

I'm right there with you BB.  My deer lease is a breeding ground for chiggers.  When working there during the summer, we do whatever we can to stay out of the tall grass and spray down as much as possible. When you have 100+ bites, the itch will literally drive you mad.   I keep hydrocortisone cream in my overnight bag just in case that time of year. 

[MISSISSIPPI Double beard]

I wear a set of light weight base layers. They are tight at my ankles, wrist and neck. Snug at least. When I get home my clothes come off on the patio and my base layers go in the washer. I always have ticks on my clothes but rarely on me. I do use off sometimes from boots to knees.

[slicksbeagles1]

I take garlic pills it's not foolproof but it sure helps

[Cut N Run]

Garlic turns my stomach.  It must be the vampire in me.? 

I am a chigger magnet.  I can be walking through the exact same piece of woods and get covered up in chiggers, while the people with me barely pick up a single one.  I had over 300 from the waist down one time.  It was brutal. Rather than try to get them off my pants one time, there were so many that I just burned the pants on the spot and got a spare pair out of my truck. I found that if you can wipe your legs down with a paper towel saturated in rubbing alcohol before they bite, it kills them.

My grandfather used to tie kerosene soaked rags over his boots and around the bottom of his pants legs when he picked blackberries in July.  He didn't ever get too many chiggers that I remember.  I found that wearing rubber boots helps cut down the number of chiggers you pick up, but wading through tall grass cuts down their effectiveness.  Permethrin kills ticks and chiggers.  It does my heart good to know that when I come out of the woods & brush with no ticks or chiggers on me that I've left a trail of dead ones behind.

Jim