I hate ticks. They’re crunchy blood sucking spiders and need to die. Or at least not touch me. They’re also thick in my yard.
I’m getting very tired of doing the total-freak-out-while-removing-all-clothing-and-shriek-get-it-the-fuck-off-me dance every few minutes. Hysterics are exhausting.
Off does nothing. Long pants, long sleeve turtleneck shirt, and hair tucked under a winter hat have kept the damn things from ever touching my skin, so far, but the outfit is horribly hot. I’d rather not die from heatstroke, but if that is what it takes, then put “Really Hated Ticks” on my headstone.
Can Frontline be prescribed for humans?
I know those flea & Tick collars are horrible for cats. What about for people? Do they work? Would one on each ankle and each wrist keep the nasty little beasties away from me? Slow 'em down? Poison me? Dead or just a little queasy poisoned?
If it matters, the damn things are locally known as “wood ticks,” but are in the grass, shrubs, bushes, trees, flowerbeds, and compost pile. They’re roughly the same size and color of a redheads freckles ( color, from o to sized, without legs).
You mean something like this cute little fellow? I don’t know; I found that guy even though I’d sprayed myself with Deep Woods Off! all over. A neighbor swears by kerosene, but it didn’t work for me. (He smears kerosene around the top of each work boot and the bottom of his pants leg.) I just end up doing a check every few hours; my experience has been that they don’t attach themselves immediately.
Strange, I do allright with DEET. On a bad day I can get 5 ticks in ten minutes without it. My wife and I still have to strip and do tick check anytime we’re out for long. My wife doesn’t really use enough DEET, so she sometimes gets a few ticks. It’s true though that DEET is not 100%.
You could try permethrin on your clothes. Some of those spot on things for dogs[sup]*[/sup] are permethrin. I’ve got a set of dedicated clothes that have been treated with it for days I’m going into the brush.
It’s poison to cats due to the way they clean. I wouldn’t be too concerned about cats contacting your soaked clothing, but don’t ever use concentrated permethrin products on your cats. I think some cat flea powders have permethrin, but that is considered safe for some reason.
I think it was von Uexkull (sp?) who determined that ticks can live for up 17 years, waiting
for one blood meal, so that they can fall off the victim to lay their eggs and die.
No white spots. These are solid red-brown, but close enough, especially if the “spots” are flash glare off the shiny shell.
We have some “flowered sulpher” somewhere. If it’s not a zillion years old, and in powder form, I’ll try that. If it isn’t what I’m looking for, I’ll go to town and buy new Flower of Sulpher/powdered sulpher.
One of my garden additives has permethrin in it – seems like it claimed to kill ants or slugs or something, but did not, so I’ll try it for ticks. At least around the patio and herb garden.
On a more serious note, covering exposed body parts with clothing and using permethrin are what I suggest. Careful with cats, tho. I’ve seen many sick/dead cats due to permethrin exposure.
If the area is not too large, having an exterminator treat the area is an option.
10 acres, plus I don’t want to kill all the bird food, just the ticks. Guinea Fowl wouldn’t survive a day, unless they stayed in the fox and coyote proof pen way out behind the barn, which won’t do anything about the ticks close to the house.
The cats are indoor only, and don’t have access to my treated clothing.
I’m going with the permethrin and sulfer. Wish me luck – I’m heading outside now.
color, from o to 
