Ticks

[Crankin4Bass]

I recently moved to an area that has lots of small ponds that are accessible to bank fish if you walk through the woods. The ponds look great. Problem is this area has lots of ticks and Lyme disease is common around here. My neighbor told me she got Lyme her first month here. In addition to Deet and Permetherin, what do you guys recommend to avoid ticks? Are waders helpful?

[Drew03cmc]

Pants, boots, detailed self checks. I've had Lyme Disease. The disease doesn't normally transmit until an infected tick has been attached for 24 hours, in my case, like 18. Check yourself after you get done, but yes, spray your boots and pants.

[TnRiver46]

I hate ticks. We have tons of them, luckily I always feel them either crawling on me or itching when I get bit. Heck I may have Lyme disease as many of them have bit me. I had a bit of the bullseye reaction once

[TOXIC]

My daughter is an equestrian and also participates in fox hunting.  She is always careful about ticks.  She did get Lyme and we caught it early.  Me personally, I get the heebies from leeches.  They make my skin crawl.  

[Oregon Native]

I've even had ticks on me in winter while below freezing temps while golf ball hunting here in Tennessee.  Finally started using a product Repel makes for ticks...doesn't have deet (which I believe is a destroyer of many things) .  But I have found it to be very effective.

Good Luck

[A-Jay]

I've lived in a few places where ticks were thick.

Having long hair, double coated dog just adds to the fun.

For me, tall socks, long pants & shirts are the order of the day wherever I'm in their territory.

The final answer is you.  Thoroughly Check yourself after every outdoor adventure - everyone.

Knowing what they look like (they can be really small too) and how to safely remove the insect is my advice.

Procure & keep handy a set of 'tick extraction tools' makes the task a whole lot easier.

Finally- avoid the woods behind my house . . .

(my dogs asked for that sign)

A-Jay

 

[Fishes in trees]

Ticks are bad.  Several years ago, I think I had Lyme disease, at least I ran a fever off and on for a few weeks during the summer and when I went to the doctor he gave me a shot ( which worked, I felt much better the next day ) and he told me "Next time you get a tick bite, come in sooner, Lyme disease is serious."

Since then I've been pretty serious about using bug & tick spray.  For me, every clothing edge gets hit - shoes & socks,

top of socks, waistband of shorts, area around legs of shorts, sleeves & collars.   Since then I've found a few crawling on me but only a few attached and I know they weren't attached for long.  Just another thing in the country that you need to pay attention to.

[Crestliner2008]

Being an outdoorsman who hunts & fishes in MA, I can tell you that ticks, especially this year, will be terrible. However, for the couple of decades or more, I've taken precautions which have prevented me from having a single tick bite. Believe it or not. This flat out works. Developed about 20 years ago by the military for prevention, Permethrin is used to treat clothing. Not to be applied to the skin.

 

Now Permethrin is not a repellent. It's an insecticide which kills ticks on contact. You spray (pre-treat) your pants, socks, shirts or jacket with this product and it will solve your tick problem for several machine washings. Very effective.

 

Another pest we encounter quite often here, which causes disease as well, are mosquitoes. For this I use a pump spray of 100% DEET on exposed skin surfaces. Back of neck, forehead, back of the hands all treated with this product. In this case, DEET is a repellent, and not an insecticide, so it has to be re-applied once each day, prior to venturing outdoors. And you have to be careful not to apply it to the palms of your hands. As doing so may damage rod finishes or any other sort of plastic devices (cell phones, sonars, etc..). I dislike the can sprays as overspraying becomes a problem. And lotions alone retain the chemical on your hands, whereas the pump sprays allow you to direct this product where YOU want it.

 

Taking these two proven preventions allows me to move freely along the banks or in the deep woods worry free. Has worked for me for more years than I can recall. Works for me.

[NYWayfarer]

I wear long pants and boots while bank fishing even in 90 degree heat. Both are sprayed with Deep Woods Off as well as my neck and exposed flesh on my arms.

 

My hat gets a spray as well. I also use a conditioning spray on my hair which has ingredients to repel insects.

[Hog Basser]

I wear pants and boots while out in the woods always.  Then I get my wife to "tick check" me.  She's not as enthusiastic about me "tick checking" her.  ☹️

[Subaqua Adinterim]

I'm in the suburbs next to a big park loaded with deer and ticks. Got bit last year, freaky experience to pick a little bump of something off your side and to look at it's little legs moving.

I called the Doctor within 24 hours and he just called in a prescription for 2 pills that I took both at once and I was ok.

Take preventive steps as mentioned above. I now spray my clothes when I am working or hiking outside in areas with ticks.  I use something called Repel with Permethrin which is an unscented spray and supposedly lasts 2 weeks on clothes and shoes.

[redmexican5081]

Staying on the trail is one of the easiest ways to limit encounters.  That being said, the best fishing is not found along the trail.  I use permethrin on my light colored clothes that I wear fishing. Light colors help me see them crawling on me better than dark cloths.  I try to think of ticks as moving up from the ground and I try not to give them access to my skin. My pants get tucked into my socks, my shirt gets tucked into my pants.  I use a spray repellent with 40% DEET for my face, neck and exposed skin.  I quickly check for ticks before I even make my first cast if I am in an area where I know them to be more concentrated. I also do a check before I get back into my vehicle.  When I get home, I have my wife do a check, then take a shower.  I make sure to touch everything with my hands working from my head down before I soap up with the body poof because my hands will find the little buggers that the poof may miss or relocate.

[Siebert Outdoors]

This is odd.  I just had this conversation with a guy.  He recommended.

Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent

[geo g]

Possums they will clear an area of tick faster then spraying will do.  Possums eat ticks, love ticks, and hunt ticks.  They will also take care of mice and snakes.  Possums are your friend, and seldom carry rabies because of slow metabolism.  Don’t harm or chase away these guys.

[JFlynn97]

DEET on your shoes and pants. Wear long socks or boots that you can tuck your pants into. As soon as you get out of the woods, check key spots for ticks (lower legs and ankles, pits, neck, etc.) and do a thorough check once you're home. Be sure to look carefully, because the ones that will give you lyme disease are generally smaller than the ones you usually see. A tick will generally have to be attached for at least 16-20 hours to transmit the disease, so if you find it early you should be fine.

 

Lymes in no joke. I worked in the woods all last summer with a group of 4 other people (5 total), and by the end of the summer 3 people had contracted lymes and we made sure to be as careful as possible. Again, as long as you're careful you should be fine. Look up the symptoms and be aware of what they are - if you start to show any of them, it's better to get yourself tested early and confirm/deny that you have it. The earlier you're diagnosed, the better off your treatment will be.

[Bankbeater]

I’ve gotten ticks off of me in a boat out in the middle of a lake. Sometimes they’ll drop out of the trees on you.

[TnRiver46]

5 hours ago, geo g said:

Possums they will clear an area of tick faster then spraying will do.  Possums eat ticks, love ticks, and hunt ticks.  They will also take care of mice and snakes.  Possums are your friend, and seldom carry rabies because of slow metabolism.  Don’t harm or chase away these guys.

Well we got about a billion possums on every street corner and ticks everywhere 

[Glaucus]

A tough set of pants, some good boots, spray, check yourself time to time. I'll even wear a long sleeved shirt if I expect a lot of bug issues.

 

Also Napalm doesn't hurt.

13 hours ago, TOXIC said:

My daughter is an equestrian and also participates in fox hunting.  She is always careful about ticks.  She did get Lyme and we caught it early.  Me personally, I get the heebies from leeches.  They make my skin crawl.  

Anything stings or has eight legs sends me into a 6 year old little girl fit.

[GreenPig]

I put two cups of regular Clorox in tub of water and soak for 20 minutes( WARNING TUB GETS SLIPPERY). The bottom of my tub has looked like a pepper shaker was poured in it. Clothes immediately go in washer with clorox for colors. My wife and sister both have chronic lyme. It's no joke. Be careful.

[Lead Head]

Had an old surveyor teach me a trick. Buy flea and tick collars for dogs and put one around each boot. Kinda like a tick repellent ankle bracelet. Helped tremendously the few times I needed to try it, but still check yourself because they can get on you from bushes and such. 

[Joshua van Wyk]

20 hours ago, Drew03cmc said:

Pants, boots, detailed self checks. I've had Lyme Disease. The disease doesn't normally transmit until an infected tick has been attached for 24 hours, in my case, like 18. Check yourself after you get done, but yes, spray your boots and pants.

You had or have? I was under the impression that Lyme disease was for life once you had it.

[geo g]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Well we got about a billion possums on every street corner and ticks everywhere 

Read up on it!

[Glaucus]

1 hour ago, Joshua van Wyk said:

You had or have? I was under the impression that Lyme disease was for life once you had it.

If you catch it early it's curable. Later on it causes some serious issues, but it can still be cured, just not every time.

[Drew03cmc]

1 hour ago, Joshua van Wyk said:

You had or have? I was under the impression that Lyme disease was for life once you had it.

You are correct, the antibodies are in you for life. For example, hot, acidic coffee brings back the debilitating headaches I suffered. 

 

I pulled a tick off me one day and four days later had a 103.5 fever for 3 days, body aches, couldn't move my eyes side to side as it felt like someone had pliers and was yanking my ocular nerves. It took about 5 days of a HIGH dose of doxycycline before I felt relief at all. The doctor did a blood test, but when I told her that my eyes were hurting like they were, she said she didn't need to send it off. The diagnosis couldn't be more clear. She gave me a 30 day course of doxy. It is one of the worst feelings ever. I caught it pretty early and still have that headache issue. Please take care of yourself. 

[Glaucus]

32 minutes ago, Drew03cmc said:

You are correct, the antibodies are in you for life. For example, hot, acidic coffee brings back the debilitating headaches I suffered. 

 

I pulled a tick off me one day and four days later had a 103.5 fever for 3 days, body aches, couldn't move my eyes side to side as it felt like someone had pliers and was yanking my ocular nerves. It took about 5 days of a HIGH dose of doxycycline before I felt relief at all. The doctor did a blood test, but when I told her that my eyes were hurting like they were, she said she didn't need to send it off. The diagnosis couldn't be more clear. She gave me a 30 day course of doxy. It is one of the worst feelings ever. I caught it pretty early and still have that headache issue. Please take care of yourself. 

Treatment of early stage Lyme is cured in 90 percent of the cases.

 

https://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/arthritis-lyme-disease