Tick prevention

[John_Mc]

I haven't found any 7%, will 10% work? Tractor Supply and amazon have that.

Yes. You can also but stronger and just dilute it with water.

Note that in liquid form, permethrin is highly toxic to cats - even just getting it on their skin can cause them problems. Once dry, it does not seem to be a problem for them, though I would not want them eating the cotton balls.

 

[rontaki]

I think the PC term for chiggers is chigros.

Google's AI Overview:


Chegro primarily refers to a village in the Giridih district of Jharkhand, India, or a synonym for a chigger mite. The village has a population of 2,919 (as of 2011), while "chegro" also refers to parasitic larval mites. Additionally, it is used as a term for a specific housing firm in Nigeria.
Key Information about Chegro, Jharkhand:

• Location: Dumri Block, Giridih district, Jharkhand, India.
• Railway Station: Chegro (CEME) is a 2-platform station.
• Population: 2,919 residents across 482 families (2011 census).
• Demographics: Literacy rate was 64.65% in 2011, with a male literacy rate of 81.07% and female literacy rate of 48.01%.

Other Meanings:

• [Chegro/Chigger (Biology)]: Red parasitic larvae of mites (genus Trombicula) that cause skin irritation.
• [Chegro Homes (Nigeria)]: A housing developer targeting Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.
• [Derogatory Term]: A term historically used in borderlands to refer to lower-class Mexican migrants.

 

[DarkBlack]

1975 - Lyme Connecticut... huge outbreak of what was originally thought to be early-onset arthritis, identified by the following year to be a new disease transmitted by ticks. Hence the name, and the rest is history.

It was later proven that it has existed for thousands of years, all over North America, but was only first-identified in Lyme CT. Throughout the late 1970's, knowledge and awareness of this disease was mostly isolated to CT and NY, along with one or two doctors operating in MI and WI. During the 1980's, knoweldge of it spread.

Several write-ups, you could read on this the rest of your life and never run out of material, but this is the first one that popped up in Google: History of Lyme Disease - Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Plum Island

Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons - TheHumanist.com

BY KRIS NEWBY HARPER WAVE, 2019 336 PP.; $28.99 Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons by Kris Newby adds significantly to our understanding of Lyme disease, while oddly seeming to avoid mention of what we already knew. Newby claims that if a scientist named Willy...

thehumanist.com

 

[bmaverick]

Ag Daily News report . . .

Increase in tick bites fuels waves of conspiracy theories | AGDAILY

Tick-related conspiracy theories garnering millions of views online, with folks blaming human-engineered biological warfare or Bill Gates for the crisis.

www.agdaily.com

 

[Duds13]

Anyone wear any of these products? Some reasearch tells me it is much more effctive than spraying your clothes with Sawyer.

Elimitick - Tick Repellent Clothing

ElimiTick® tick repellent clothing uses Insect Shield® technology, which turns tick hunting clothing into long-lasting, effective, tick protection.

gamehide.com

 

[John_Mc]

Anyone wear any of these products? Some reasearch tells me it is much more effctive than spraying your clothes with Sawyer.

Elimitick - Tick Repellent Clothing

ElimiTick® tick repellent clothing uses Insect Shield® technology, which turns tick hunting clothing into long-lasting, effective, tick protection.

gamehide.com

Yes. They license the process for treating clothing from Insect Shield. I’ve used some of the Gamehide products. For the last 10 years or so, I’ve been buying direct from Insect Shield. (I’ve probably referenced them earlier in this thread.)

I would not call it “more effective” than spraying your clothing with permethrin (which is what Sawyer’s clothing spray is. It is also sold by a number of other manufacturers.) I would call it equally effective.

The difference is that when you spray it yourself, it’s good for about 5 washes. The factory treating process binds the permethrin to the fabric, so it’s good for about 70 washes. (By that point, the clothing is probably about ready to be retired.)

As long as you keep up with the permethrin spraying yourself, the effects are the same. In my case, I don’t trust myself to keep track of how long ago something was treated or how many washes so I’ve switched mainly to the factory-treated stuff.

Another option: you can send your own clothing to Insect Shield And the will do the factory treating process on them.

 

[Duds13]

Yes. They license the process for treating clothing from Insect Shield. I’ve used some of the Gamehide products. For the last 10 years or so, I’ve been buying direct from Insect Shield. (I’ve probably referenced them earlier in this thread.)

I would not call it “more effective” than spraying your clothing with permethrin (which is what Sawyer’s clothing spray is. It is also sold by a number of other manufacturers.) I would call it equally effective.

The difference is that when you spray it yourself, it’s good for about 5 washes. The factory treating process binds the permethrin to the fabric, so it’s good for about 70 washes. (By that point, the clothing is probably about ready to be retired.)

As long as you keep up with the permethrin spraying yourself, the effects are the same. In my case, I don’t trust myself to keep track of how long ago something was treated or how many washes.

Another option: you can send your own clothing to Insect Shield And the will do the factory treating process on them.

That's great info, thank you! Sorry if I missed it mentioned earlier in the thread, I was too lazy to search for it!

 

[ArlyA]

The problem with factory treated clothing is you need to like whatever clothing they are selling. I buy the pants n shirts I like, then treat them. They both should work as a repellent, but I don't trust the 6 wash business of Sawyer.

 

[EscapedSuburbia]

As far as cost, I buy concentrated permethrin from the feed store and dilute it. Same stuff as Sawyer but cheaper.

 

[Bearsixty7]

The problem with factory treated clothing is you need to like whatever clothing they are selling. I buy the pants n shirts I like, then treat them. They both should work as a repellent, but I don't trust the 6 wash business of Sawyer.

It worked for us last summer. The wife and I each had 2 "outfits" we treated and would wash them all every other day then retreat every 2 weeks.

 

[John_Mc]

The problem with factory treated clothing is you need to like whatever clothing they are selling. I buy the pants n shirts I like, then treat them. They both should work as a repellent, but I don't trust the 6 wash business of Sawyer.

I do like some of their stuff. However, probably about 75% or more of what I buy from them is just "work in the woods" clothing. I really don't care what it looks like, as long as it fits. I probably have almost half a dozen T shirts, several long-sleeved Ts, a couple pairs of lightweight pants to wear under my chainsaw chaps, some heavier pants, and some nicer looking shirts.

I also have 4 pairs of some treated socks made by Farm to Feet. Their "Boulder Light Cushion Crew" with the No fly Zone treatment were the perfect woods sock for me: mostly merino wool, fit well, lasted long. However, they changed to a different design that they now offer as their "No Fly Zone" treated sock, and I just don't like it as well. I've recently switched to buying socks from the Insect Shield company. A pair of their lightweight hiker socks seems to be holding up OK (made of 70% viscose from bamboo). I just started a couple of their merino wool socks into the rotation - The comfort is OK: almost as good as the Farm to Feet Boulder socks. It's too soon to tell if they will hold up as well.