BUGS

[flINTLOCK]

Gnats and mosquitos gettin bad in our neck of the woods. Tired of taking baths in bug spray. Anyone have stories about the small personal battery powered devices that are supposed to clear bugs for several feet around you. Would be real handy to carry around your neck on a lanyard, if they work.

 

[daTeacha]

I had occasion to try one once and was distinctly not impressed. Ever think of netting and long sleeves?

 

[6sunset6]

We have deer ticks which give you Lyme disease which makes you sick forever. If you get it really bad you need IV antibiotics and the insurance co start balking. Not sure what really works for that except a full body check every time you come in the house. I guess that could be fun.

 

[flINTLOCK]

10-4. Guess I'll stick with the chemicals.

 

[Toiyabe]

The Western Fence Lizard is thought to have some compound in its blood that kills the Lyme disease bacteria in ticks. That's probably why Lyme disease is much less common in the west than in the east.

Lizards Slow Lyme Disease in West / Ticks bite them -- and leave with purified blood

I've thought about catching and selling the lizards to easterners. You could keep them in little cages around your property during the warm months and hope they purify the local tick population. If any customer gets Lyme disease I'll give them their money back (less a hefty shipping and handling fee, of course). Call within the next hour and I'll throw in a free sagebrush incense bundle, a $0.000001 value!

 

[John47]

The Western Fence Lizard is thought to have some compound in its blood that kills the Lyme disease bacteria in ticks. That's probably why Lyme disease is much less common in the west than in the east.

Lizards Slow Lyme Disease in West / Ticks bite them -- and leave with purified blood

I've thought about catching and selling the lizards to easterners. You could keep them in little cages around your property during the warm months and hope they purify the local tick population. If any customer gets Lyme disease I'll give them their money back (less a hefty shipping and handling fee, of course). Call within the next hour and I'll throw in a free sagebrush incense bundle, a $0.000001 value!

Hate to burst your bubble, but the west is highly infected with Lyme, I got my dose in California and a good proportion of the support forum I'm a member of come from your neck of the woods.
A conservative estimate of Lyme sufferers in this country is around five million, 5,000,000!! It's in epidemic proportions, also now thought to be transmitted by ALL biting insects.
As I was completely screwed up with this disease for several months, I researched as much as I could. It's the scariest disease around.
I'd recommend EVERYONE read up on it as much as they can, both medically and out here on the internet!
The CDC seen to want to "fudge" the numbers, could it be backhanders from the insurance companies??? I'd bet my old holey workboots it is!
Anyone wanting a good Lyme site, visit Lymebusters!! Read the horrific stories on there! LymeBusters - Login

 

[Toiyabe]

John47,

Sorry to hear that you got Lyme Disease.

The CDC has a map of reported cases - DVBID: Incidence | CDC Lyme Disease

Other statistics are available here - DVBID: Statistics | CDC Lyme Disease

It does seem to be comparatively rare in the west, especially the interior west.

 

[John47]

John47,

Sorry to hear that you got Lyme Disease.

The CDC has a map of reported cases - DVBID: Incidence | CDC Lyme Disease

Other statistics are available here - DVBID: Statistics | CDC Lyme Disease

It does seem to be comparatively rare in the west, especially the interior west.

I wouldn't set much store on the CDC! Lyme is one of the most mis diagnosed disease's around. I had symptoms while I lived in California, several were missed by my Doctors, and I thought too, that what I was suffering was just the effects of aging, including high BP, another Lyme symptom. The problem with Lyme is it affects everyone different, not like a cold or flu. The test for Lymes is the Western Blot test, usually shows negative too even with full blown Lyme!
As I'd already had Lyme for ten years before it became full blown, anti biotics would probably have been a waste of time, usually has to be taken at the onset.
I didn't get the typical "bulls eye" rash either! I was consistant in removing ticks from me as I found them, I also used Deet on a daily basis during the months when ticks were around. I personally think it was mosquito bites that gave me Lyme! But I will never know for sure.
There is also a version known as Morgellons, although the medical profession doesn't recognise it.
There are several Doctors around the country who are world experts on Lyme and treat the disease in unorthodox methods to the norm mainstream medicine, they are having more positive results than patients treated with antibiotics.

What is puzzeling, is it was a disease that very rarely infected humans until the mid 70's! Some in medical circles attribute this to the decline in sodium levels in our diet following the coronary scares of the early 1970's and insisting we reduce our intake of salt in our diets.
Speculation or not, the medical profession now is saying we don't get enough sodium in our diets today!

It's amazing what a person will learn when they have to!

 

[Oleozz]

I also have Lyme disease, had it for years before I was diagnosed by a Lyme disease expert, he gave me the Bowen Research Lab test and was positive. He had me on antibiotics, I was supposed to take them for at least a year but I only lasted four months, the antibiotics seemed to have more side effects than the Lyme. The disease, as John47 has stated, is at an epidemic level and most docs don't want to acknowledge it. Funny thing about the sodium comment, I hardly ever use salt and haven't for years.

 

[Coyote]

I HAVE used one of those little battery powered things you pin to your shirt. I didn't get bitten....they just hover a few inches away and don't land....better than getting bit but very obnoxious too!

 

[Iowachild]

We have deer ticks which give you Lyme disease which makes you sick forever. If you get it really bad you need IV antibiotics and the insurance co start balking.

Been there, done that! Although my insurance coverage at the time was great. Good thing too because the IV regime ran close to $300.00 per day for six weeks.

 

[greenedeere]

I too have the disease, was not treated for it properly when it first started.I had the tick in hand stuck to a piece of tape, bullseye and the sickness that follows. The MD knew more than CDC, an outdoor magazine and my research. Second MD took no chances, sent in all kinds of samples and was tested positive three times. All this in early 1992. 11 monthes later I was so sick of antibiotics and Doctor offices I stopped with the pills. Now I have to have something for pain in joints (knees,shoulders,back,elbows,hands)I hate to have to ask for pain medication. Always have to explain why I need then.So I just suffer thru some of the time when I need then to relieve the pain.Be careful and do check yourself, unless it has changed a tick needs @24 hours attached to cause the start of the process.

 

[Ford850]

As I understand it too - 24 hours on you then it's dangerous. They suck the blood, use parts of it, and deposit the rest back into you. That's when they infect you. Check yourselves early and often.
Try Permanone, it works great for mosquitoes and ticks. Spray it on clothes only, let it dry, then it stays on clothes for weeks even through washing. No odor, and it works 100% for me. You still need a little Deet on your exposed skin but having your clothes protected does wonders. Socks, pants, shirts, hats, I use it on everything and get zero bites through clothing, and ticks will not attach to it. And unlike Deet which only repels, Permanone actually kills the bugs so they do not keep swarming aroung your face.
I've used it for 15 years but it still seems like an unknown secret for some reason. It's also safer for children since it's applied to clothing and not to their skin like Deet.

 

[Ford850]

I looked it up online, and it appears that Repel has bought the Permanone name. The Repel brand is scented though. The active ingredient is Permethrin. I found a Sawyer brand that looks closer to the cans of Permanone that I have. They say it has no scent and will last through washes.
Look for Permethrin as the active ingredient.

 

[jbrumberg]

When I use DEET products I find that I get mild asthma-like symptoms. I will use these products when I have to, but any chemical you can eliminate through urine literally minutes after application is stuff you want to be careful about and it will also dissolve some plastics. I spray DEET products liberally on my old jungle hat (topside and under the brim), I use a bug net and long sleeve shirts and pants, I eat a lot and I mean a lot of garlic, and I use dandruff shampoo with coal tar and some of the brands have pyrithrum (?). This/these combinations of responses to bugs tend to work for me and my body chemistry (and my craziness), but most of these methods (other than the bug net) worked for me when I worked in the jungles of Costa Rica. I will add that the biting insect pests in NE during blackfly and deerfly seasons seem worse than the jungle bugs (other than the army ants and some other ant species ) Jay

 

[WayneB]

During this time of the year I am usually wearing my bug baffler suit. Keeps the bugs off from me.

Bug Baffler - Insect Protective Clothing

 

[RedRocker]

Try a Thermacell, small and worked for me when I was deer hunting.