Glennmac,
I'm real sorry to hear about your Tick Adventures.
If you search through the Rural section there is a good
conversation on Permethrin. I think I spelled this correctly.
Actually I think there are a couple of discussions. One was
back in 2001 or there abouts. Patrick put me on to using this
stuff and it works.
What you do is mix it with water and soak your clothes. Then
air dry the treated clothes. The treatment supposedly lasts
a year. The military treats fatigues with this stuff. You can
wash the clothes as normal and it still is effective. I have
seen chiggers, hundreds of them, and ticks climbing my legs.
But after about 18 inches of travel they slow down and start
to die. This stuff works and you don't have to reapply every
time you walk outside.
I wear two socks and tuck the pants legs into the socks.
When its really bad chigger season, July and August, I might
spray the socks with DEET.
It helps to keep the grass cut since 12-24 inch tall plants
is where the ticks and chigger like to hang out. During
the tick/chigger season I just try to stay out of the woods
and weeds. I stick to cut trails as much as possible.
I walked a lot line with a new neighbor early this spring. I
had on my treated clothes even though it was a bit warm. My
neighbor did not listen to my warnings and walked into the
woods wearing sneakers, short socks, and shorts. We
stopped twice going out and twice returning from a 1500
foot long walk so he could swat ticks..... He was lucky the
chiggers did not get him. I did not have near the number
of ticks even though I went in ahead of him to collect the
most ticks. They just jump or fall off the treated pants.
Good Luck and hope this helps.
Dan McCarty