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schweady
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06/04/2019 11:57AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Coffee today with a buddy and I brought up prepping our clothing with permethrin yesterday prior to our Superior Hiking Trail trip next week. "Funny you should mention that," and he goes on to tell of contracting Lyme disease a couple of weeks back. Numbness in his legs led to a doctor visit and some strong antibiotics. No typical bull's eye rash since it was in the fold behind his knee.

Anyway, 5 oz of my 36.8% concentrate made around 3 gallons of 0.5% spray, enough to treat 4 shirts, 5 pair of pants, and a dozen pair of socks. For those interested in some exact formulae and methods, here's a conversation from a couple years ago.
 
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inspector13
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06/04/2019 12:36PM  

I think some people just don’t develop the rash. A nephew was bit behind the ear and got the rash on his face, head, and neck. I developed the bulls-eye both times, on the back and side (a big one), and on my leg.

06/04/2019 01:37PM  
I think only the lucky ones develop the rash. Without the rash it can be easy to mistake lyme disease for many other things which prevents prompt treatment.
BobDobbs
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06/05/2019 10:41AM  
While we're at it - does anyone have any idea why the price of permethrin has skyrocketed lately?

I just added a quart to my amazon cart of the 36.8%, and noticed that it was darn near 1/3 more expensive than last year.
06/05/2019 11:26AM  
I didn't use any or treat any of me/my clothing last year and I never saw one tick.
Is this abnormal?

#23 entry up to crooked via Horse River out Friday Bay and down through Moosecamp River and Fourtown.

This year is entry #16 to LLC and base camping somewhere around Boulder/Tiger bay.

Hit the water on July 28th.
Are ticks more seasonal?
inspector13
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06/05/2019 12:00PM  
Bushman: "I didn't use any or treat any of me/my clothing last year and I never saw one tick.
Is this abnormal?...
Are ticks more seasonal?"

The larger common tick known colloquially as the wood tick or dog tick appears to be seasonal. Those are out in armies once it warms up in spring, but I’ve rarely seen them past late July.

In my experience this doesn’t seem to be the case with deer ticks. Those seem to be out once there is no snow on the ground. I’ve even heard they have crawled on hunters that were processing their deer.

Maybe the places you have gone just don’t have the numbers of primary hosts for the ticks to be abundant. That, or you’re lucky.

mjmkjun
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06/06/2019 07:16AM  
Worth the time and effort. For first-timers: Roughly $10 for 12 oz spray bottle for 2 outfits at Walmart but DIY from concentrates go far for less $. Pay attention to what % the concentrate is used. It's an important factor. It can be 10% or 36.8% or other concentrations. Don't forget to wear rubber gloves if you do the soak-in-a-bucket method. Permethrin is for clothes only. Not to apply to skin as a bug repellent. Also, will harm or kill cats and birds until it drys so be cautioned.
Supposedly, stays effective for up to 7 wash cycles.
Just resprayed my pants that I've washed several times since last year's trip. I've not found a tick lingering on me yet since prepping my clothes with permethrin. The hat brim, shirts, pants and socks are evenly saturated before I hang dry.
(I do the hat brim to deter mosquitoes.)
06/06/2019 11:22AM  
+1 - cheap insurance! I use the Sawyer's spray bottle to treat our clothing and tent before heading into the woods. It's easy to hang the clothes in the backyard and spray on a nice day. It is also safe to spray on your dog and lasts up to 35 days on them.

Note that Permethrin in liquid form is toxic to cats, so if you do treat your clothes and gear just make sure it is dry before bringing indoors with them.

Sawyer Permethrin
06/09/2019 11:19AM  
I can't pull it up now,but permethrin does last thru so many washings,but it showed it losing some of its concentration or amount present by washing. So by washing the strength will drop. How much I don't remember?
06/09/2019 11:26AM  
washing- effective

Not the study I seen before but still interesting.
06/13/2019 08:33AM  
I've never gotten a rash the few times I've gotten Lymes, but always found the tick (too late though). Last year I got Anaplasmosis from a deer tick. That felt way worse than Lymes and took a bit longer for the antibiotics to take effect before I felt better. The last study that was done in the local park where I live reveal about half the ticks carried Lymes.
It always a good idea to thoroughly check for ticks as deer ticks are very small and hard to spot. I've found they generally don't travel far from where they originally grabbed onto you and start to feed soon after
06/13/2019 08:46AM  
A very good percentage of deer ticks-Lymes disease do not leave a bullseye red mark. Also tests for Lymes in the early stages very often will not show it. Often in my area and my recommendations is get the treatment if your pretty sure you got it. Push for treatment. The longer you wait,the less the effectiveness of treatment.

Also a trick of mine beside permethrin on clothes,especially in certain areas ticks like to attach. Give that area a heavy dose of deet. around the beltline where the may be stopped in their movement so they attach.
Rubber boots in heavy tick country.
Georgiapaddler31
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06/13/2019 11:06AM  
Bushman: "I didn't use any or treat any of me/my clothing last year and I never saw one tick.
Is this abnormal?


#23 entry up to crooked via Horse River out Friday Bay and down through Moosecamp River and Fourtown.


This year is entry #16 to LLC and base camping somewhere around Boulder/Tiger bay.


Hit the water on July 28th.
Are ticks more seasonal?"


You should check out the island campsite #175 just north of the bays on LLC.
06/13/2019 11:25AM  
Georgiapaddler31: "
Bushman: "I didn't use any or treat any of me/my clothing last year and I never saw one tick.
Is this abnormal?



#23 entry up to crooked via Horse River out Friday Bay and down through Moosecamp River and Fourtown.



This year is entry #16 to LLC and base camping somewhere around Boulder/Tiger bay.



Hit the water on July 28th.
Are ticks more seasonal?"



You should check out the island campsite #175 just north of the bays on LLC. "


Will do...unless you're telling me it's a tick haven? LOL
Georgiapaddler31
member (21)member
  
06/13/2019 01:55PM  
Great campsite, not a tick haven. lol
 
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