Tick Repellent

[arrowlauncherdj]

I was watching a hunting show the other day and a guy poured sevens dust all in his blind... Was that his tick repellent? It was muzzys show

[Shakes.602]

Thank You  ALL  for the Info!!        

[Zradix]

Does DEET do anything to keep them off your skin...or at least from diggin in?

My area in MI has just come under an advisary for them.
I've never really had to worry about them before...never even seen one.

I hear they're often pin head small.

[mscampbell75]

Funny you should ask.  I just picked this up about an hour ago.

[Doc Nock]

Originally posted by CHENRYIV:
 

Originally posted by John49:
Buy 8 oz bottle of permethrin at Tractor Supply.  Mix 1 oz with 16 to 20 oz of water and spray clothes, let dry before wearing them.

Will last you the whole season [/b]

OK...trusting what is posted here, I and a buddy went to tractor supply, got the 10% Permythrin and a nice 36 oz spray bottle...

I mixed it up 1 oz /32oz of water and it smelled like fuel oil...sprayed clothes, let dry 24 hrs.

Wore in damp woods setting stands... started to stink when wet... came home later in day and stripped and my SKIN smelled like this stuff.

Did some checkin with some math gurus...

Taking a 10% solution to dilute it to .05% solution you need less than a TEASPOON in 32oz of water...

There are 6 teaspoons in one ounce!!! I had a mix 6x stronger that was not intended for clothing.

Seems the .05% solution is right, but may have missed the calculation that it's a 10% concentrate one starts with...

FWIW...

[Doc Nock]

I also found a 24oz trigger spray bottle of Sawyers at, get this, the Hardware Store, for $17... less than wally world for the 12 oz on a per oz basis.

Who knew??

[Sam McMichael]

It always works out good for me to buy the spray cans. That way I don't have to worry about whether or not I mixed it right. Well, Doc Nock, at that strength you may not need to treat that set of clothes ever again. They may have soaked up a lifetime of product.

Somebody asked about whether DEET keeps ticks off. For me, it does not. I only use it for mosquitoes and gnats.

[WidowEater]

You need a 0.5% solution.  Not 0.05%

I buy it by the quart of 36% permethrin.  It lasts me awhile and I use it a whole lot more than for ticks and chiggers.  I treat my yard, dog kennel, ALL of my clothes. I use it as a house spray because the 1% solution kills roaches and other pests.

[Robertfishes]

I spray my truck carpet and floor mats with permanone during hunting season, I also spray truck bed and all arround my skinning rack after every kill. During hunting season I spray my house carpet with it too. it's very rare for me to find a tick on my self, when I do find one its when I'm skinning a hog or deer and have direct contact with the hide. Like Sam I buy the premixed 0.50% stuff in the cans for my clothes and I buy the Tractor Supply 10% mix dilute it to 1% and use it to spray the grass arround my skinning rack

[Doc Nock]

Thanks, w.e and Robert,

Since the stuff you buy (I bought) at Tractor Supply in the 10% concentrate has NO formula in the many page booklet for treating personal clothing and a TON of warnings to wear protective clothing even spraying it... and there are many past and current threads with anywhere from .5% to .05%...well, there doesn't seem to be a factual way to know which decimal point is acceptable for long term contact with humans' clothing under sweaty condition, eh???

I've done enough stuff to myself we NOW know was /is harmful... I'm thinking I don't need to add anymore...  :(

[Tall Paul]

Not all permethrin is blended for the purpose of bonding to fabric.  Most permethrin is agricultural which is for pest control on vegetation.  Its design purpose is to stick to plants thus protecting the plants.  Veterinary products are designed to adhere to animal skins/hair or premises and are not for fabric application.  Some permethrin is formulated for treatment of medical conditions such as head lice and scabies.  The formulations are not interchangeable mostly because of solvents utilized.

[Tall Paul]

Found the above on  www.tickinfo.com  that Bowslinger posted earlier.

[Zradix]

I loved playing with mercury...didn't you..?
lol

[Doc Nock]

T.P.

Nice link... yes, apparently, from my recent experience, the stuff you get for animal applications (that was the most frequent solutions or barn treatments in the bottle we bought) the solvent has to be petroleum distillates...it stinks like fuel oil.

I have a 7 oz amount left if anyone wants to come get it!  

Zradix...
yes I did like playing with mercury..always a treat when a thermometer got broken at home or school...roll it around all over the desk...then coat pennies and rub them cause they were slickery.

That isn't the least of it all... using asbestos sheets to light firecracker glow worms on... worked where we washed resin off TV tube faces with acetone and tolulene with bare hands... etc, etc...

But... There is something about spraying stuff that smells like fuel on my clothing to hunt deer that just doesn't work for me... I have this odd notion it would put off the deer and keep them outa my bow range...but then that's just ME!  

[bowless]

Got a friend just getting over a tick born disease. I couldn't even begin to pronounce it, but day's of migrains, then high fever and sick as a dog.  Finally went to the ER where she was diagnosed and put on antibiotics.  Those little suckers carry some nasty stuff so for me I don't care how bad the smell, I'm using it.

[gringol]

Originally posted by Zradix:
Does DEET do anything to keep them off your skin...or at least from diggin in?

My area in MI has just come under an advisary for them.
I've never really had to worry about them before...never even seen one.

I hear they're often pin head small.

Yes, DEET does help, but here in FL you're likely to sweat so much that a few will find a spot where the DEET has been diluted with sweat and make themselves at home.  DEET is certainly better than nothing, but it smells quite a bit.  Sawyer's permithrin is odorless once dry, so put it on your clothes the night before you hunt and you'll be good to go.

[Zradix]

DOC...ah oh..I'm supposed to use gloves with toluene and acetone?...ooops..lol

gringol ...thank you.


does the permithrin really keep them from crawling onto your neck or other body parts?

I've heard they fall off the trees and bushes, get in your hair and like to crawl to your neck/hairline and dig in.
If that's the case, they wouldn't get in contact with the permithrin.....maybe I need to wear a hat soaked in the stuff too...?

I'm not knocking the above help and knowledge at all...I'm reading with much interest..just trying to understand the little demon.

So once I spray my clothes with the permithrin and let them dry, is it then OK to have those treated clothes touching my skin?

Thanks guys!

[gringol]

I usually catch them crawling up my legs.  If you don't catch them, they do try to make their way to your neck, under arms, etc.  I don't think they actually drop from trees 82nd Airborne style.  They cling to brush with their leg out-stretched waiting for something to brush against them.  Then the hop on.  If you rarely touch brush in the woods, you rarely get ticks.  The permethrin manufacturers recommend that you wear long-sleaves, keep your shirt tucked in, and even tuck your pants into your socks.  That way they have to touch your treated clothes in order to get to you.

My favorite part of permithrin is that it actually kills the little devils.

Yes, zradix, it's fine to have the treated clothes touch your skin once they have dried.

[Zradix]

I like stuff that kills..
Sounds like very good advice!

Thanks Gringol!

[Tall Paul]

Bowless, the commercial stuff that adheres to fabric is oderless.  Its the stuff thats formulated for vegetation and animals that will have an odor.