Permethrin- What am I doing wrong?

[MTelkHuntress]

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.

None of the clothing I put it on is water repelling, which kind of makes me wonder if I'm just not putting enough on. Doubling up with deet or the other repellent mentioned seems like a great idea as well. I usually carry a pair of pliers to get them off my pants....and smush them.
Ticks are horrible little creatures. My boss used to research ticks and Lyme disease but sadly some of his work didnt get published. Lyme disease is definitely no joke and absolutely needs to be take seriously.

 

[Mudder]

I've been a little leery of the more is better philosophy when using any sort of Tick prevention. After inadvertently overdosing my dogs on occasion and watching them go into convulsions.

I get bitten on an average of once every couple of years, I use Deet.

When washing field clothes I use a water temp above 140F. If you are like me and avoid washing hunting clothes, put them in a plastic bag and pop them in the freezer overnight.

I'm either lucky (genetics) or have a learned skill, unless I'm really fatigued and unattentive I notice them on my skin quickly. I've woken in the middle of the night and grabbed one off my arm, maybe it is a phoibia?

 

[Irrelevant]

Gosh, we always had ticks growing up. The idea of spraying yourself and clothing with a conconction of synthetic chemicals didn't seem like a willing trade-off. But the more I read about Lyme the more I might considering spraying our family. Sounds pretty nasty. But if you suspect it tell you Doc that it's in almost every State per the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/datasurveillance/maps-recent.html (I suppose there had to be something good about Oklahoma).

 

[1_pointer]

Gosh, we always had ticks growing up. The idea of spraying yourself and clothing with a conconction of synthetic chemicals didn't seem like a willing trade-off. But the more I read about Lyme the more I might considering spraying our family. Sounds pretty nasty. But if you suspect it tell you Doc that it's in almost every State per the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/datasurveillance/maps-recent.html (I suppose there had to be something good about Oklahoma).

Around here, Lyme's is just one of many tick bourne diseases to worry about.

To the OP, I'd guess you aren't using enough. I watched two die this weekend on my britches that I treated 2 weeks ago. A previous poster mentioned, the flea/tick dog collar. Cattle ear tags of the same material can often be found cheaper. I'm thinking of threading one through my boot laces for some added protection.

 

[Dougfirtree]

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.

Reminds me of how it used to be here. Doctors here are now coming around and the doxycyclene flows pretty freely to avoid the nasty chronic stuff. There are some pretty promising developments coming up soon, like a vaccine and a different antibiotic that apparently works very well.