Permethrin- What am I doing wrong?

[pre6422hornet]

I have used the Sawyers for probably 9 years now. I also wear gaiters no matter what season. I spray liberally my pants, gaiters, shirts and hat. I literally have watched them crawl up my pant leg, and falter around mid thigh and literally fall off. Yes a few still get through, but it is very rare.

Once in Missouri, on public Army Corp land, I peeked around a field corner and saw a nice Gobbler with a Hen at the end of the field ( 600 yards away). I back up and circled behind them in the woods. I came out to the field and the gobbler was down in a depression but gobbling his head off. I crawled 20 yards out in the field, threw in a deke, and crawled back to my pack and sat against a tree.

Hit the slate and BAM he gobbles facing me ( super loud). All of a sudden I catch movement on the ground next to me and I look down and the ground was crawling with ticks. I must have sat my butt down on a nest or something. I stood up so fast, threw my pack out in the field and followed suit.. Gobbler took off flying with the hen. End of hunt.

But good news is the Sawyers worked. Not a single tick was on my clothes or me by the time I made the 3/4 mile hike to the truck.

 

[JLS]

I live in Montana and supposedly the ticks we have here don't carry Lymes disease.

I wouldn’t believe that.

 

[JLS]

It is very common to pull the body from the head and leave the ticks head in the skin. Grab as close as you can to the skin. If the head still stays in the skin, treat with alcohol every couple days and try not to irritate it anymore by itching.

Yep, I’ve had some infected bites on dogs and myself where I didn’t get the entire critter. It’s pretty easy to leave a little jaw/head behind.

 

[MJE2083]

I've used Sawyers and it seems to work fine, but for the cost. I've switched to using Martin's flea/tick/mange concentrate which is much cheaper. I dilute it per the instructions for putting on a dog 2oz:1gal water. It's been a while since I've done the math, but I believe at that strength it's stronger than Sawyers. I used to just use an old Sawyers bottle to refill, but lately I've been putting the full gallon of mix in a 2gal lawn/garden sprayer and doing a big batch of mine and my wife's clothes/boots all at the same time. It's easy to soak stuff pretty good with that sprayer and my hand doesn't cramp up from the little bottle.

That being said, I'm not going to tell you that I've never had a tick on my pants. They do still get on you, but the number is far fewer than untreated. Sometimes they'll crawl around for a few mins(never saw one last ten), but they always fall off eventually(at least in my experience). I've never found one that was able to make it to my skin after crawling on my treated clothes. They say sawyers will last 6 weeks or 6 washings, but I treat my stuff every 4-5 weeks and avoid washing as much as possible. They also say to store clothes in a dark place.

 

[np307]

What kind of material are you applying the spray to? I've noticed that some water-repelling fabrics don't allow the permethrin to stay put and therefore you don't get all the benefits of it.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Lot's of good advice above - you can also add a shot of deet bug spray on your pants below the knee and your socks/boots for extra protection when you go out if it is a heavy tick season.

 

[Dougfirtree]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but has anyone ever had a tick bite lasted longer than a few days? I got bit by a tick over two weeks ago and I still have a small red bump where it was latched on.

THat's normal for me. They stay itchy for about a month.

 

[Sytes]

I've not had much issue during spring turkey/bear season and know I've sat in them as they crawled around the ground and brush while glassing/calling.

I use a livestock version and mix the % about double retail sawyers, have an old Sawyer's bottle and spray down each trek into the woods.

 

[Hunting Wife]

I live in Montana and supposedly the ticks we have here don't carry Lymes disease.

Don’t believe that. My sister-in-law came out for our wedding 16 years ago now and got a tick bite over by Rock Creek. She was sick for a few years but no one would test her for Lyme because “it isn’t in Montana”. Long story short, she went to a specialist and finally tested positive several years later, plus a couple of coinfections and is still fighting it. She was pregnant with my niece at the time and she has tested positive too. It’s been a real struggle for them because it took so long to diagnose. Lyme and Lyme-type illnesses are much more widespread and complicated than public health officials will admit. I think there is still a lot to learn about tick-borne illnesses.

 

[Gerald Martin]

I live in Montana and supposedly the ticks we have here don't carry Lymes disease.

Negative ghost rider. My wife contracted Lymes from a wood tick. Tested and confirmed and she’s been fighting it for 8 years. North West MT.

 

[nwihunter]

Don’t believe that. My sister-in-law came out for our wedding 16 years ago now and got a tick bite over by Rock Creek. She was sick for a few years but no one would test her for Lyme because “it isn’t in Montana”. Long story short, she went to a specialist and finally tested positive several years later, plus a couple of coinfections and is still fighting it. She was pregnant with my niece at the time and she has tested positive too. It’s been a real struggle for them because it took so long to diagnose. Lyme and Lyme-type illnesses are much more widespread and complicated than public health officials will admit. I think there is still a lot to learn about tick-borne illnesses.

I went through the same thing with both of my sons. The youngest was extremely sick. It was difficult trying to get doctors on board with treating a chronic Lyme diagnosis. Both kids are fine now but it was a rough couple of years.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Negative ghost rider. My wife contracted Lymes from a wood tick. Tested and confirmed and she’s been fighting it for 8 years. North West MT.

I feel for her. My SIL was told she had everything from vitamin deficiencies to depression. Doctors wouldn’t listen and basically told her she was crazy. It was a very difficult time. I can’t imagine.

 

[MO Betta]

I hate those darn things, the Deet levels in Off Deep Woods has always worked pretty well for me but I'd like to try permethrin. Just be thankful you can't get alpha-gal from the ones up there.

 

[nwihunter]

I feel for her. My SIL was told she had everything from vitamin deficiencies to depression. Doctors wouldn’t listen and basically told her she was crazy. It was a very difficult time. I can’t imagine.

I went through the same thing when my son was 10. They told him he was making up his symptoms or that it could be Lupis or arthritis. i lost count of how may doctors we took him to before we found one that would help him.

 

[JTHOMP]

While doing field work that was basically riding 4wheelers and walking through Johnson grass and CRPs all summer we were constantly infested with ticks and red bugs. My friends used permethrin with good success. Even had a pile of dead bugs in our potted plants down wind of where they sprayed their clothes. I’m surprised it’s not working good for you.

I was lazy and didn’t take the time to pre spray my stuff. I managed with using deet spray before I started my day and reapplied a couple of times during the day. I welcomed ticks over a full body infestation of red bug bites and it seemed to work for both. Maybe you could do both permethrin and deet?

 

[kansasdad]

What kind of material are you applying the spray to? I've noticed that some water-repelling fabrics don't allow the permethrin to stay put and therefore you don't get all the benefits of it.

I was wondering if this is part of your issue with ticks getting on you @MTelkHuntress. I have a pair of Badlands pants that when I spray the Sawyers on the outside the liquid balls up and runs off instead of soaking into the material. I spray the fleece on the inside of these pants as I know that socks and long underwear will keep direct skin contact with sprayed surfaces and prevent exposure.

The only leg tick I had on my leg this spring were when I wore low running shoes instead of tucking pants into calf high muck style boots. I got scratched up by sticks, a touch of poison ivy and a small tick got onto my knee crease and was in the act of attaching when I felt that little sucker. The one that got onto my arm was due to using non sprayed gloves that day and not keeping mu sleeve tucked into the glove.

I generally don’t mind about the ones that are on the outside of my clothes. It is the ones that bypass the physical and chemical deterrents that bug me.

The areas that I pay special attention to when applying the permethrin is the collars, waistline, and leg openings. Facemask, gloves and hat also get a good application. If I can place a strong force field of repellant there, it is more likely that I can go unscathed.

 

[Hem]

Miss elk huntress,
Something to carry is this little device. It removes ALL of the tic from your skin if embedded. Handy device.
I have been spraying for years but invariably some cross the gauntlet. You must just accept the tic season and do regular full body checks to be safe ...daily..after time in the woods. This might be tougher for a lady.
It's a matter of great laughter asking your buddy to do a tic inspection of those hard to see areas. Fortunately , or not, I hunt solo. a little hand mirror is entertaining.
But seriously..tics are bad. Practice extreme prejudice.

 

[Gerald Martin]

After getting the run around by local doctors and being told it wasn’t possible for it to be Lymes she finally saw a specialist back in Virginia. As we suspected and as all symptoms suggested she was diagnosed with Lymes and several other co-infections. It took almost two years. It took several more years of expensive meds and herbal treatments to get it to a manageable level.

Currently she is able to function at an almost normal level most of the time with occasional flare-ups when she gets worn down.

The side effects from the meds were almost as bad as Lymes and messed up her hormonal levels for several years. Thankfully she found a good doctor who understood that and was able to get her back in balance.

A word of advice for anyone bitten by a tick. If you get the bullseye rash and fever and chills, demand, insist or do whatever it takes to get a prescription for doxycycline. Lymes is easy to knock out if you get antibiotics within a month.
If you don’t treat it for a year or more there is a very good chance you will live with some effects of it forever.

 

[JLS]

A friend of ours has Lyme’s. She struggles greatly with fatigue and a mother of other symptoms. She has good days and bad days, and it’s painful to watch her struggle.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Good info. Hate the tics. I feel pseudo-tics crawling on me for 1-2 weeks after I find one.
Never had an embedded one.