Serious Tick Problem-Need Help!

[CBranch]

I am looking for some help from our southern hunting friends, as I expect you may have more insight into a tick repellants that don't readily repel deer, since you often hunt in warmer weather. In the past few years, my brother and I have had serious issues with seed tick explosions in our hunting areas. We have a hard time veering from the trail to do any significant scouting without getting eaten alive by the things before a few frosts. If you walk through brush or grass and hit a pod of them, they cover you up, and nothing seems to keep them off, sin more deet or repellant than I care to use, and Therma-cells do nothing to keep them away. I have tried some self proclaimed organic retail repellants with limited success, but the deer seem to smell the stuff a mile away and blow us out. If we are getting in the thick stuff, we keep bulk size hand sanitizer around camp and usually just come back and rub the stuff all over our legs and arms to kill the things. http://voices.yahoo.com/what-seed-ticks-6029558.html?cat=58

Not only are the seed ticks bothersome, but both my Dad's brothers have developed alpha-gal induced anaphylaxis(red meat allergy) from lone star ticks. It is a meat eater's curse. Not to mention the risk for Lyme Disease.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121109083742.htm

Any suggestions for keeping them off in the first place and not scaring off all the deer??

 

[kansasdad]

Clothing treated with permethrin will help keep ticks off. Only on external clothing. http://www.lymeneteurope.org/info/deet-versus-permethrin-as-a-tick-repellent

Cabelas et al sell pump spray bottles that are supposed to treat two sets of clothing. Farm supply places sell permethrin labelled for livestock use, at a 5% solution. I dilute it to the recommended 1/2% spray for significantly less cost per use. (Here's hoping I don't grow cow udders or horsetails!)

 

[spook12]

Liquid Pyrethrin. You can get it at any Animal supply store(Feed store or Farmers Co Op). Take an old sock and cut off the top half and soak it in Pyrethrin and let it dry. Next time you go into Tick country slip the now dry sock top up over your boot top but under your pants cuff. In high concentrations you're not suppose to let it sit on your skin.
The person who finds a way to prevent seed tick pods from brushing off on you will be a Millionaire. About the only way I have found to deal with them is scrape them off with the sharp edge of a knife before they spread.

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

Controlled Burn!!!! I hate them little Devil Spawn! John

 

[bigskyblueman]

As kids, we used to keep large tins of powdered sulfur for use on the skin and all clothing . It kept the ticks off us .

 

[schmalts]

Ditto the permetherin. I had lymes twice so I use it a lot in the spring and fall

 

[Red Dirt Archer]

Permetherin is the only way to go. I take my hunting clothing and boots and make sure they are clean and free of dirt and soak them in it then let them air dry. I do this for turkey season as well because once the weather warms up they come out like crazy.

http://www.rei.com/product/768970/sawyer-permethrin-pump-spray-24-oz

 

[CBranch]

Thanks guys I'll give that a try. So it sounds like the permetherin won't spook the deer if I treat the clothes and let it dry opposed to the wet stuff the deer are smelling on us?