Spring Has Arrived And So Have The Ticks!
One of the unfortunate things we have to contend with in rural real estate is the unfortunate reappearance each year of ticks. When I was a kid ticks hadn’t actually evolved yet. Well ok that’s not true but they weren’t as dangerous. I can remember reading about Rocky Mountain Spotted tick fever but I never knew anyone who had it. But nowadays particularly with Lyme disease ticks are no laughing matter.
This is particularly hard on turkey hunters as they must sit still in the now warm woods for long stretches. We all know how ticks can cling to you when you are on a hike, so imagine what it’s like when you are not a moving target. So does all this mean that you can’t enjoy the woods in warm weather? The answer is no.
If you are only a casual and infrequent visitor to timbered areas you can use the same insect repellents that work on mosquitoes. Such brands as OFF, CUTTERS, and others who use Deet as their active ingredient are all pretty effective. I say pretty effective because when I’ve used them in the past they were much better than using nothing but I almost always found at least one or two ticks when I came in from the timber.
Last year I read about something new, or at least new to me called Permethrin. It’s sold under several brand names and can be found at many places including Cabela’s, Bass Pro and others. It’s a unique product and it’s first usage as an insect repellent was to protect troops from insects in tropical areas.
Here is what makes it so unique. You do not, in fact DO NOT EVER spray it on your skin. Instead is meant to be applied to the outer layer of clothing and it lasts up to 6 weeks even through washing. And here’s the best part, it is amazing how well it works. I have a set of jeans and socks that I set aside and spray with one of the permethrin based products. My wife marked the bottoms of the socks with a marker so I can tell them from the other socks in my drawer. When I wear those socks and those jeans there are no ticks on me when I come home from the woods. I also wear a white shirt in the woods to more easily see any ticks, but with those jeans and socks none ever make it as high as my shirts.
What I do is to take the socks and jeans out in an open area, spray them on all the outer surfaces so that you can see they have been moistened, let them stay overnight to dry and then make sure those are the ones I wear in the woods. The result, NO TICKS. On thing I do when I know I’ll be in the woods a while is to pull my socks up over my jeans. Hey I’m never going to be a high fashion model anyway, so why not? I just find it more effective at keeping ticks on the outside as long as possible so the permethrin can do it’s job.
If you Google permethrin you will find as you usually do warnings about what high dosages etc. will do to you. Now the thing is permethrin is also used as a commercial insecticide particularly in the cotton industry. So how they use permethrin there is a lot different than in this application. I like it because well, it works, and you don’t have that oily smell you get from using normal insect repellents. As always you are grown ups, so study up carefully before you use anything like this, but as someone who has to go into the woods on a regular basis I’m a big fan and think you should consider it. It sure beats Lyme disease.
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Re/Max Rural KC Real Estate Team
Bill Gaughan
Re/Max RuralKC Team
913-837-0760 Phone
