Earlier in the year it was the little ones about half the diameter of a stick pin head .
For the last couple days we had a couple of good soakers , yesterday went into the woods to retrieve SD cards .
Holee [bleep] ! Took my clothes off down to the boxers , hung them outside .
Went in and set on the couch and the crawleys started . Got five regular ticks off me and just one off the mutt that went with me . WTF ?
No little ones , them fuggers dig in quick .
Kenneth

Had one crawling on me yesterday, looked like the normal brown dog tick but had a white dot dead center on it's back.
Never seen any like it before.


Edit: just DDG'd it Lone Star Tick
First I've ever seen here in Virginia

Bad year for ticks here in the NC mountains. I am killing one or two a day.

Ticks are keeping me out of the woods here in PA.

Middle Tennessee they are also bad this year.

Too dry here for many ticks.

Yep , got an oddball like that on me yesterday .
Cant count the numbers I have pulled off me over the years . Catch a lot of them crawling and a lot after they attach . A few that I couldn’t get the whole thing out and eventually disappeared under the skin .
I would guess well over a hundred bites , have been tested a couple times , don’t know how I couldn’t have been infected , but they say not .
Sometimes their bite scabs and itches for a month or more , some onary little critters .
Kenneth

I got the telltale rings on my thigh from a tickbite. Got in quick and the meds cleared it right up

Ticks are clearly down on our area this year, possibly due to fire ants, I’m told. I hope it stays that way.

I've picked way more than my fair share of ticks off me this year.

Not as many here as usual.

I started spraying clothes with Sawyer and letting them dry in the sun. Wearing those socks, pants, and shirts in KS with a lot of ticks present. Zero ticks on me.

Plucked one off last week. Just now healing up.

Eastern Oregon has em bad this year. We picked off 4 while picking mushrooms.

Kenneth66: Myself and my Spring Black Bear Hunting partner had a very successful Hunt up in the NW corner of Montana in late May just past.
Not only did we bring to bag a very dandy Black Bear but we set a record for removing ticks from our clothes/skin!
And we used spray on Tick Repellent virtually every morning and afternoon.
First day I removed 12 from my person then the next day I found and squished 15 ticks!
Then after that I lost track.
Puzzling though the 10+ year old Bear we harvested had NO ticks on his pelt what so ever?
What part of the world are you encountering the ticks in?
Use care - I have endured both Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme's Disease!
Neither of us endured an embedded in our skin tick though - perhaps that is due to the heavy application of Tick spray?
The ticks we did find were literally crawling at top speed across our clothes/skin.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Ticks seem to be more prevalent after some wet weather, if it's been dry for a while the ticks aren't near as bad.

I have gotten 4 off me in the last 2 weeks that were already berried up. I would cut grass, go take a shower and they had already berried up that quick.

One word for you guys: Permethrin.
My brother-in-law has an outside job with the USDA and he uses some stuff called Ultra Shield EX. He gets it from a farm store in a 32 ounce pump spray that they make for horses. Way less expensive that the spray bottles at Bass Pro.

I have a prescription for Doxycycline 100MG tablets that I have in the car and in my kit when ever I'm in tick areas. 2 capsules knocks out the Lymes bacteria if a deer tick has been embedded for more than 24 hours. You would be wise to get that same prescription.

The COOP has "cattle spray" (Permethrin) in a concentrate that I dilute down to spray the cows for flies etc. Probably a dozen years ago I started diluting closer to the permethrin concentration found in ready to use products and spray appropriate outdoor equipment and clothes and let it dry. It works.... I keep a spray bottle on the front porch of the permethrin mixture in case I need it for a pair of jeans I haven't sprayed or when headed out on a hunt with friends who may not have an effective tick spray.

Had 7 latch on me in one day a couple months ago.

I have a little property up on the Forest near Izee, OR. I spent 5 days last week working on it and had more ticks on me last week than in all my previous 50 years on this ground. It was unbelievable… My poor Aussie, even after several thorough inspections, still brought home to Montana a couple of these attached Oregon souvenirs.

I thought i was the only one battling with ticks

Southern Michigan is crawling with the little blind bastards. So far this year the wife and I have not had any latched on, but it entails disrobing and inspecting ourselves after being outside in the field.

Yep, been pulling up to 5 a day, off each of our 3 dogs !

Yep .

Also Salyers repellent , although Off/Cutter on clothes does the trick for me .

What meds?

I used to live in central Georgia. I had a one acre lot on Lake Sinclair. When I moved in to the house I had about 30 fire ant mounds on that property. Typical for that area. I got onto them and wiped out all the fire ants.
After I had done that, I noticed that I had a big increase in ticks on my big pet cat. This was an indoor/outdoors cat. And I got to thinking, I wondered what fire ants eat. And I figured that they would eat other insects like ticks.
So I laid off the fire ants, and within one year I had 30 fire ant mounds again. And after that I got few, if any ticks on the cat. Fire ants do eat ticks and lots of them.

Now I live in the mountains and we don't have fire ants up here.

Get yourself some fire ants. That’ll take care of your tick problem 😁

Terrible year for ticks around here. Can't walk out of the yard without getting a few of the bastids crawling on you.
My son just bought ten guinea fowl to free-range behind the house. Word is that they're very effective at tick eradication. We'll see.

When I was growing up, ticks were no more than a nuisance. Pick them off, and go on your way. Today, though....

40% DEET every 4 hours on skin anywhere they can come into your clothing. Tight weave fabric clothing us important. Spray heavy. Spray on back of hand and wipe in beard. Spray hat under brim, too.

Permanone or equivalent permethrin on clothing if you really hate them.

Have to do DEET at least 40%. Permethrin alone will let an occasional one in. I hear higher % DEET works longer.

DEET will melt paint and plastic.

I suspect that is why some of us don't get Lyme's or alpha gal. We had so many ticks as kids. I never worried about ticks. It was redbugs that had us putting kerosene on our pants and shirts when picking blackberries.

[quote=kenoh2
My son just bought ten guinea fowl to free-range behind the house. Word is that they're very effective at tick eradication. We'll see.[/quote]


I got lymes disease last year. My wife is a doc and her practice is seeing lots of those cases in NC. We are currently raising 30 guinea foul chicks. My job is to spend a lot of time with them now so they imprint on us. We have a neighbor that keeps a few guineas and he uses freeze dried meal worms to hold their undivided attention. He just shakes the bag and they come running.

We hope they end up like a giant pack of tick eating puppy dogs following us all over the property.

I want to start eating a little sulphur, which is supposed to keep them suckers from biting you, as it stays in your bloodstream, and the little bastards do not like it. I have sulphur, I just haven't gotten it out to do it yet.

I haven't seen ticks down here in years.

probably why i haven't seen any in years.

None in the mountains here yet. Of course today high was 51°F.

Gruff says they’re attracted to evil.

I've never had one on me, so that checks out.

get you some sawyers. spray it on your clothes and you won't have any ticks.

tick stuff

Be careful out there.

Ya don't wanna get Corona with Lyme.

LOL !

Yep. That’d be my guess. Haven’t seen one in years.

Now if we could just get rid of the damn chiggers !

There are LOTS in my area. I stay out of the woods with the exception of riding my ATV on my trails. I got 5 bites so far and found quite a few on my clothes. All the bites were just started and picked off easy, they weren't buried in. Still the bites stay itchy and swollen for weeks. I get tested for Lyme once a year when I have blood drawn for my annual physical. I hate those vile little things.

I don't like to get chemicals on me. I have used DEET many times in my misspent youth. I am hearing advice on several other chemicals that you can douse yourself with.
I get 10 to 15 tick bites per year and they have never made me sick yet, although, I know that they can. Some things are worse than tick bites, no way I am spraying those chemicals on my clothes and running around in the woods for 10 hours.

Twenty years ago, I was made very sick by lead poisoning and I still don't know how I contracted that ailment. No way I am spraying the DEET or other noxious chemical on my skin or clothing.

Hose all your schit with Permethrin.

It will be a lot better than the schit a tick from the east coast can give you. Especially if you’re old.

If a single woman visits the farm, a “check you for ticks” is mandatory. I get all kinds of “thank you” sex for removing even a single tick .

lot of ticks in your cistern?

Methed out whores tend to be appreciative.

Beaver’s a perfect example.

LOL

We have lots of ticks here. I go around the outside of my yard and spread tick granules every year. Spread then around the house too. Never get ticks in the yard and repels ants from coming in the house. At deer camp we spread tick granules over the whole yard never have to worry about them.
Our dog gets medicine that kills ticks if she has one bite her.

SOBs got six off and out of me from this mornings trek .
Going to have to resort to spray , dam it .
Kenneth

Holy [bleep] , ole lady just came home and found five more bit in . Definitely going to spray now , wasn’t in the woods but 2 hours or less .
Kenneth

I was working in the yard for an hour or so 2 days ago, wife checked me and I check myself, (found one) took a shower and later still found a little one bit in!
Worst I have seen them in years

Years ago it was rare to even see the smaller deer ticks in northern WI., but the wood ticks were common enough. Now the smaller Lyme carrier small deer ticks are everywhere up north and a lot harder to spot. I blouse my socks over my pants legs before I walk around in the woods now that and long sleeves keeps them on the outside before they get me.

We have a boy in our scout troop who just came down with Rocky Mtn Spotted fever from a tick bite. Yesterday he had a fever of 103. Thank God for modern antibiotics.
Spotted fever is actually a rarity, about 2000 cases nationwide in an average year and most of those in the south. Regardless of the name, its actually rare in the Rockies.

Just heard about a trick to do with duck tape. You wrap it around the bottom of your pants leg and sleeves with the sticky side out. The idea is that it works like fly paper and the ticks get stuck to it before they can crawl up your pants. May try that as I have nothing to loose

Get you some chickens and Guinea fowl and you won't find any of those little bastards.

Keep in mind that light, especially sunlight diminishes the effectiveness and duration of Permethrin.

I am not to keen on chem dousing. What about dusting with Diatomaceous earth? Old timers I knew would use sulfur dust.

Diatomaceous earth isn't going to scratch them to death just being on your clothes.

DEET is nasty but 40% or better applied properly and on schedule works. If you use concentrated permethrin to blend your own, use caution. I accidentally spilled a little on my hand once mixing up a tank for the garden. That spot was numb for half an hour. I would get the permethrin concentrate that isn't in a petroleum solution. It doesn't stink as bad.

Diatomaceous earth is murder on ticks and fleas. I have powdered up a dog that was infested with ticks the size of raisins. In ten minutes the ticks were all dead.
However I can't figure out how to use the diatomaceous earth on a human..

Put your pants legs inside your boots, tuck your shirt tail in, spray from above your belt down to your boots. Works for chiggers (red bugs) also. Fire ants will kill out most of the ticks especially on non forested ground but there's still a few. I don't know that I would be in favor of completely eradicating fire ants. Cattle in the south used to get covered with shingle ticks, so named because they were layered on the animals like shingles on a roof.

What you don't want is to get bit by is a tick that carries the Alpha Gal strain. It's rampant here in the Ozarks. Not as well known as the others. Know several that's been diagnosed with it. Can't eat red meat for several years. Ticks are terrible here this year.

Be safe!

RH

Been nuking the yard and woodline with synthetic pyrethroids, methyl carbamates and organophosphates. 👍

Diatomaceous earth. LOL aka Roach Pruf. Our bugs eat dat chit like candy 😂
Paul Harvey and Angel mainlining dat sheeit in their motorhome pfft

Please, slumlord. You are cracking me up with that joke. Bugs eat diatomaceous earth.

Nothing is more lethal on bugs and I have seen fleas and ticks keel over dead sixty seconds after being coated with the diatomaceous.
On humans it is nothing it is not a chemical, it is a type of dirt twelve million years old, made from powdered, tiny sea shells.

We used to have ticks bad. You couldn't walk across the yard without getting a few hitchhikers sticking to your sack. About 5 years ago I started scattering crack corn and some turkeys moved in. Everyday 50-75 birds stroll through the yard picking corn, collecting bugs, which includes woodticks. We haven't had a tick since.

They do grease the yard as they move about and besides sticking to my boot lugs they do cause the grass to grow quicker. Either one is better than going through Lymes disease again.

WS

How are they going to know you have it in your blood stream if they don't bite you?

Just spray your pants and shoes with a little permethrin and forget it. Ignore the rest of these jokes in this thread. Permethrin is the way. You don't get "chemicals" on you and it lasts for a couple washings. If you do see a tick, it will be about dead. You don't get bit.

You will stink, that's how. I have a friend that was eating garlic to keep the bugs off until his wife told him how bad he smelled. He decided to endure a few bug bites for sex.

An INTRODUCTION to:



TICK-BORNE DISEASES OF HUMANS

ISBN 1-55581-238-4.

Thinking back , they have never been this bad till the last twenty years of so ago .
40 some years ago I began my career as a lineman , the first ten years or more I worked pretty much exclusively in mountains in western Va , Hardy county WVA and Middleburn WVA areas , in right of ways on foot , miles and miles of reconducting .
None of us got bit like we have in the last twenty years .
But I will also say these areas were covered with huge ant hills , they were everywhere.
So maybe there’s something to the ant thing .
Actually ticks were pretty much not thought of .
Jack you’re right , just always been hardheaded about spray , but as I said , this is going to change .
Kenneth

Arigato! lol

Been bad here in VT too - keeping the Doxy on hand. My little Beagle, she’s had 3 or 4 of the boogers but she’s had all her shots. Gotta stay in the woods tho - makes the other seasons come easier.

I bought a cheap plastic salt shaker. Holds maybe a cup. I mixed DE and Sulphur powder. Sprinkle on and go to town.....I mean woods. Haven't had any chiggers (Allah curse them) either.

Don't put it on your skin. Once it dries on the clothing, it is STUCK there.

https://pyrethroids.com/about-pyret...YpcW68QIV8TE4Ch25qgs2EAAYBSAAEgKhGPD_BwE

I keep a spray bottle by the back door and spray my boots, socks, and pant legs first time out the door in the morning. No ticks all day long. No greasy feeling DEET all over me and stinking.

About once a week I'll give the door step there a couple good sprays on a hot dry day. You'll be amazed at what all is trying to sneak in a door when you see it all laying there dead in the morning.

I am in the business and the phone is ringing off the hook both from past clients and from people who have not ever had to spray before.

It is kinda hard not to laugh, to hear a guy spouting about how he "don't use no chemicals..." and then declare he only uses Sawyer's! That is about 25 cents worth of permethrin for $15 in this pre-mixed bottle.

https://www.rei.com/product/768970/sawyer-permethrin-pump-spray-24-oz?CAWELAID=120217890001032834&cm_mmc=PLA_Google%7C21700000001700551_7689700016%7C92700061999161853%7CTOF%7C71700000066415401&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=5635e205c5ee150be3bb82dc1a51da25&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=5635e205c5ee150be3bb82dc1a51da25