Do you fellows and or ladies have any experience with Permethrin ? Doing some web searches has lead me to considering its use as a tick preventative. Any experience or insight is appreciated. Thanks.
Ticks
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I use permethrin on all my clothing if I'm heading into tick country, it seems to work well and it certainly reduces the number of ticks that jump on board.
This is the brand I use ..
http://www.nomadtravel.co.uk/p/5103/Bugproof-Ultra-Clothing-Treatment
This is the brand I use ..
http://www.nomadtravel.co.uk/p/5103/Bugproof-Ultra-Clothing-Treatment
I use permethrin and demethrin as contact insecticides. I have no desire to have it in long term contact with my skin to be honest.
I also use it on my clothes if im going through bracken, ferns as each time ive had a tick on me its been from this type of ground, once permethrins on your clothes ive noticed ticks just drop off. Also use same brand as Shewie.
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I've used it and like it.
Another option, if you can get it, is cold-pressed garlic oil in a gel capsule. I take two or three of these a day, when I remember to get them, and not only does it help with overall well-being (Great for cuts), but mosquitoes and ticks can't stand the smell of it and don't generally bite in. You have to take it rather regularly, or at least start a few days prior to going out in the woods, but there certainly isn't a downside to getting it in you.
Just don't get the dried pills or "odor free" garbage. You want the odor, and cold-pressed oil is the best kind.
Another option, if you can get it, is cold-pressed garlic oil in a gel capsule. I take two or three of these a day, when I remember to get them, and not only does it help with overall well-being (Great for cuts), but mosquitoes and ticks can't stand the smell of it and don't generally bite in. You have to take it rather regularly, or at least start a few days prior to going out in the woods, but there certainly isn't a downside to getting it in you.
Just don't get the dried pills or "odor free" garbage. You want the odor, and cold-pressed oil is the best kind.
Another user of permethrin here, works well for ticks as well as mosquitoes.
Most brands are similar, it is worth checking the small print though as different brands tend to offer different ratios of permethrin used.
Most brands are similar, it is worth checking the small print though as different brands tend to offer different ratios of permethrin used.
I use permethrin as well with no ill effects. I spray it on the outside of my clothes at the start of spring. It does wear off in the wash and has a fixed effective life. So you may have to reapply it after a certain amount of time has passed or a certain number of washes.
My understanding is that the permethrin certified for spray-on use is diluted compared to the concentration used for insecticides (in the US). I cannot vouch for its efficacy because I have not ventured into heavy tick areas since I started using it (ironic). But I have not had any ticks on me since I started using the chemical.
I do not use it during the winter, when my area has fewer ticks.
I hope this helps,
- Woodsorrel
My understanding is that the permethrin certified for spray-on use is diluted compared to the concentration used for insecticides (in the US). I cannot vouch for its efficacy because I have not ventured into heavy tick areas since I started using it (ironic). But I have not had any ticks on me since I started using the chemical.
I do not use it during the winter, when my area has fewer ticks.
I hope this helps,
- Woodsorrel
I am in Lyme disease/Erlichiosis country. I use permethrin every time I go out. I STILL pick ticks off my clothing...at least I don't pick them OUT of my skin. I shower with laundry detergent, when I get home, and I wonder what has effected such a change from my childhood (-40 years): I was out in shorts--and maybe a T-shirt--always, and never had a problem. FYI: the only good thing about freezing temps, as far as I am concerned, is that it kills off the live ticks. Br'er Dog doesn't like them either.
On a trek in Scotland earlier in the year we got chatting to a chap about ticks, he reckoned the ban on cypermethrin sheep dip in the UK has been a big contributing factor, I've not really looked into it but I can see his point.
He said highland sheep used to known as tick mops because they'd gather them all up as they grazed.
He said highland sheep used to known as tick mops because they'd gather them all up as they grazed.
Whilst there's an element of truth in the tick mop theory by far the bigger issue (in the north of scotland) is the sharp increase in the deer population of the last 20+ years. Much of the ground that holds the largest deer populations hasn't held sheep for more than a century, when the fashion for stalking saw a move to deer forest management and an end to sheep letting, the sheep were moved off the large estates to smaller parcels unsuited to deer stalking. So many of the great empty expanses have been sheep free for quite some time.
The estates, the move from the old money approach, where estates were run for the sporting enjoyment of family and friends thereof, to the modern commercialisation of deer stalking and the need to make stalking pay, has resulted in an explosion of deer numbers, in many instances to the detriment of the environment through increased grazing pressure and the number of deer wandering the roads and verges causing issue for drivers.
Simply put most estates now say one thing to the red deer commission and do another on the ground. If you're in the business of letting stalking it pays to have animals to shoot and animals that are accessible to the less able bodied, thereby increasing the market, "feeders" wild deer that are fed to 1. To bring on condition, and 2. To ensure there are a few beasts nearby to the road when the occasion requires it.
The up shot of this change in practice is that now we have the highest number of deer ever seen in these islands, and by extension the highest numbers of "deer ticks", the lymes' carrying tick.
Precautions are well worth taking but (IMVHO) the best precaution is to stay covered and tucked in, checking yourself out when you return at the end of the day, or at the end of each day if you're staying out. The hair line is the place to check if you've stayed covered up and a deticking tool the device for the job. No amount of pesticide will work if you're wandering around in shorts and a tee shirt.
That said if you are wandering around in shorts and a tee shirt make sure you give yourself a good check (don't forget the belly button
) and remove ticks promptly and properly, even a scabby lymes' carrying tick takes time to infect and prompt proper removal sorts 99.9% of the risk. Even so, keep an eye on both the bite sores and your general health.
