Ticks!!!

[SavageSniper]

I'm trying to buy this piece of property that is joined on one side to a National Forest. While checking out the area this weekend my son-in-law and myself found ourselves covered in ticks. I had 6 and he had 9 on him in about an hour and a half. Very small ones too.
My question is if I buy this property, what do you think is the best way to get the tick population down. Burning it off would help, but like I said it is joined Federal land.

 

[Pahoo]

The only tick you need to watch out for, is the Deer-Tick. The Wood-Tick is fine. Try to tell the difference. I have Wood-Ticks in my back yard, in a residential area but so far, no Deer-Ticks. ......
Now, to my wife, this doesn't make any difference as they are all bad. Deer-Ticks need to be avoided and a good friend of mine was messed up for about seven years after a vacation up north.


Be Safe !!!

 

[Doyle]

You won't get rid of them. You can reduce the population by getting rid of the animals they live on. Squirrels, coons, possums, etc are all prime candidates. Every few years we go through a tick "cycle" in my back yard. Every time, it is preceeded by an increase in the squirrel population. As soon as I thin them out, the tick cycle goes away.

As to protection, wear long sleeves and long pants. Spray your boots, pants, and shirtsleeves with permanone (let it dry before putting them on).

The old timers will swear that drinking a big gulp of cider vinegar every day will keep them off of you. I won't do that, but I'll put a hurtin' on some pickles. I wonder if that counts.

 

[SavageSniper]

Yea Doyle I do agree. The property has been vacant for awhile. It is near Crawfordville, about 20 miles SW of Tallahassee. The amount of wildlife there is unreal. I have just never had soo many ticks on me at one time. I dont want to spray anything, dont like that idea.

 

[Dead]

There are other arthropod borne diseases than Lyme Disease... I am not certain which ticks carry what and in what areas however.

 

[bswiv]

Savage:

The burning is not as out of the question as you may think. Florida law was changed a few years back, after the last spat of big wildfires, to afford landowners more liability protection when burning.

We've got land right up against Water Management District property and the forester managing it says it will be no probelm to get burn permits when the time comes.

Here is one link that might be a useful start:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/habitats/forests/howwework/Maintaining-Fires-Natural-Role.xml

And what was said about permethrin.....it is the stuff!! Use as directed and it will work.

 

[SwampYankee]

Deer ticks all can carry Lyme Disease but for some reason, they don't vector the disease as well down south. Researchers in New England are currently working on why the problem is more prevalent in the North than in the South but the fact remains, deer ticks aren't nearly the threat in the South as they are in the North. They think it is because deer ticks love lizards more than any other host, but lizards don't serve as a good reservoir for Lyme.

 

[hogdogs]

There are a lot of LoneStar ticks in fla... They have a white dot on their back.

Ticks begin life the size and color of a grain of brown sugar as an egg...

They hatch that small. They begin life as what we call a "Seed tick" I know how to have them professionally killed (was in pest control for years) but in doing so, you will wipe out all the beneficial bugs too...

I will get some pics of some ticks we got off our selves in the daytona area. we had to begin doin' a preliminary check in the woods and strip down to skivvies on the back porch before bringing them in to infest mrs.hogdogs... she was more than miffed when one was found, imbedded, behind her ear.

Her theory was "Since I don't go out there with ya'll boys, I don't expect the critter invasion to affect me too!"

Brent

 

[A_Gamehog]

Got this last week in an e-mail.....anybody try this yet? home remedies?

TICK REMOVAL

Spring is here and the ticks will be showing their
heads.

Here is a good way to get them off you, your children, or
your pets. Give it a try.

Please forward to anyone with children... Or hunters or
dogs, or anyone who even steps outside in summer!!
A School Nurse has written the info below-- good enough
to share --And it really works!!

I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the
best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places
where it's sometimes difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the
middle of a head full of dark hair, etc.

Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball, cover the
tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds
(15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away.

This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier
for me.

Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that
this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for
advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method
and immediately called me back to say, "It
worked!"

Please pass on. Everyone needs this helpful hint.

 

[Mayor Al]

One of my sons had a terrible experience with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. He was 4 years old at the time (30 years ago!) . In the hospital they traced the source to ticks on our property (So. Indiana). The CDC sent a team to collect sample ticks for 'investigation'...We never heard anymore than a confirmation of the bug being the source of my son's suffering.

 

[mete]

It's not good to have any bug on you !! Many diseases can be carried by them.BTW Rocky Mtn Fever has been found in the east !

They sell twissers to remove ticks but they don't work very well . a drop of oil works well .I haven't heard of the soap use before.

Insecticide sould be put on your clothing not your skin. Super strength stuff is not necessary .Be very careful about using those chemicals on children.

 

[waterboy68]

Good tick information here.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/resources/handbook.pdf

I didn't realize how much bad information was out there until I read some of this. Long read, but very informative. Especially for anyone who spends alot of time outdoors.

 

[mrgoodwrench76]

I'm no 'old timer' but I can verify the cider vinegar method. I moved to Northern Arkansas 6-7 years ago and the first time I stepped into the woods I came out with literally hundreds of ticks covering my legs. And this was after about an hour in the woods, after applying heavy amounts of deet to my clothing. One of the locals told me about the vinegar trick so I tried it, now I can be out all day with no bug spray and not a single one to be found. If you can stomache it, it works. I only use it during the summer months and usually every other day.

 

[PawPaw]

There are several old remedies available, many of which you won't read about, except from talking with old-timers.

Go to the pharmacy and get Flowers of Sulfur. Put it in an old athletic sock and use it to liberally dust your shoe tops and ankles. Ticks and chiggers hate the stuff and will avoid you. You'll smell like an old sulfur match, but the bugs will stay off you.

Turn some guinea fowl loose on the land. Guinea are remarkably adaptive. They roost in trees and eat ticks and chiggers. If you've got a flock of guineas in the yard, you don't have to worry about bugs. Coyotes and dogs will only get the old, slow, sick ones. One added benefit of guinea fowl is that they are great table fare.

 

[spclPatrolGroup]

Burning it off is only a temporary solution, as soon as it grows back you will have ticks again. The only way to get rid of the problem is to pave the land

Actually ticks are not super active all year long, wear a good insect repellant those times they are most active.

 

[aarondhgraham]

PawPaw is spot on,,,

NE Oklahoma has ticks like you've never seen before,,,
My Pop's place was absolutely over run,,,
A neighbor suggested Guinea Fowl,,,
Pop bought 8 of them.

In a matter of a week the tick problem was greatly reduced,,,
In a month we could walk across the yard in shorts.

One other thing that works is to keep the area mowed,,,
Ticks climb high on stalks to attach to animals,,,
Keeping the area mowed short will help.

But the birds were the most effective,,,
They would line up like a scythe mower,,,
And literally sweep a swath clean as they ate.

Hilarious to watch,,,
They drove the one local dog nuts,,,
The dang birds would clump up and charge the dog en masse.

Every now and then you will get a mean one,,,
That's no problem though,,,
They taste fine.

Aarond

 

[mwal]

I don't think there is a way to get them off the property. Just use the Prymethium spray. In WI and MN where we hunt 9 ticks is considered a light day. While grouse hunting its not uncommon to have 20 or 30 on you. You should see the dead ones in the dogs kennel after a hunt amazing. The get killed by the bio spot applied to the dog. At a DNR check station while registering a deer a biologist wanted permission to shave a spot on a deer to count deer ticks. He shaved 4 square inches and counted 50 some ticks he said that amount was moderate in that particular area. Lyme's is a huge deal in NW WI and NE MN.

Mwal

 

[okiewita40]

Another thing about N.E Oklahoma is we have a lot of water wells with sulfur content. Some of the old timers swear that if you drink the sulfur water every day that the bug will stay away from you.

 

[Brian48]

Another thing about N.E Oklahoma is we have a lot of water wells with sulfur content. Some of the old timers swear that if you drink the sulfur water every day that the bug will stay away from you.

So will everyone else

Seriously though, I hate ticks. I hope you find a solid, long term solution for this (short of paving the land).

 

[Rifleman1776]

You will not get rid of the ticks by burning.
DEET does not discourage ticks.
Chances of getting Lyme disease from ticks is very slim but, still, not a possibility to ignore.
Spraying permanone onto your clothing, not skin, will discourage them and it does a good job.
Spreading tick repellent granules in areas where you walk is an excellent method of avoiding them. I used to use Diazonon but it has been made illegal.
I cattle ranched here in north-central Arkansas for many years and learned to tolerate ticks, chiggers and other critters. I pulled thousands from my body over those years. Yes, I just grabbed with my fingernails and pulled out. No fancy tricks or tools. I watched carefully for signs of Lymes but was lucky and never got sick.
If you are going to live or play in the woods, ticks and other buggies are part of life. Learn to live with them or stay in your city apartment.