Ticks!

C

CanDo

Joined
Mar 10, 2006
Messages
913
It would seem as though wilderness survival is a fairly straight forward process: learning, practicing, and adapting various skill sets. But what about ticks?! In my part of the woods (deciduous and coniferous birch forests of New England, USA), they are everywhere. For those of you from not around here, a 100 yard excursion off of a trail will guarantee at least one tick, and if you hit the wrong branches, possibly a dozen or more.

They're not like mosquitoes and flies: the danger of catching disease from them is very real. My dog has gotten lyme disease three times in five years; that's without a whole lot of time in the woods, and with the anti-tick medicine that is rubbed between shoulderblades. In the woods, there is no access to antibiotics, there are no mirrors to check your back, and no combs to check your hair.

A survival situation that never involves touching anything other than boulders and never lying down seems fairly impossible.

How would one deal with ticks without a nice supply of DEET and antibiotics?
 
Yep, nasty little buggers! I'd imagine in a survival situation, keeping ticks off would be a bit low on my priority list, but given the question, long sleeves, long pants with bands around the cuffs will keep the majority of them out. A snug cap and closed collar on the shirt will do good duty on the top of the body.

All of that said, careful and thorough self-exams every evening is the only way to go for sure. Ticks are fairly easy to feel if you're going slow and paying attention. I'm shaved-bald so I'm not worried about my hair for at least the first week!!!

J-
 
permetherene on your outdoor clothes is a good bet....lasts for days even through washing... also you gotta check for ticks every noght and every morning my understanding is that a tick must be imbedded for at least 36 hours before it can transmit lymes...other than that have a little faith and hope for the best... or wear a spacesuit...sorry but the dog,
 
In my area during dry season (winter) we have a massive tick and chigger problem. I have had as many as 150 chigger bites during a three day wilderness survival exercise and it is pure misery. I have pulled upwards of 20 ticks off myself in one sitting.

I now use the Sawyer military clothing dip with permethrine and cover my lower legs, waist, neckline, and forearms with DEET. In the height of the tick season I have remained tick and chigger free. One one trip when I was set up like this a friend got about 40 - 50 chigger bites as she didn't take the threat seriously and didn't use DEET.

Dealing with them without the chemical barrier means treating yourself for massive numbers of bites. A good anti histamine helps some, but you also want a topical itch lotion and a way to treat open sores from scratching to prevent infection. If you live in a Lyme disease area then by all means use the permethrine and DEET and still keep your eyes open.

At least here we don't have Lyme disease but the ticks do carry spotted fever so I don't take any chances anymore. Seriously, winter camping here without ticks is like being able to live black fly free in Canada, it really is a good deal. Mac
 
Has anyone tried the non-DEET alternatives (citronella etc) for ticks and chigger? I use B12 suppliments to handle minor mosquito infestations (I grew up near a swamp, so skeeters don't bother me until there are enough to make walking hard) If I can avoid using DEET I do, but if I must, I have some pre-ban bens 100. for some reason its the fillers that are in the lower grades that don't agree with me, and a little 100% and I'm good for a couple of day for mosquitoes. I'd like to avoid extra chemicals when I'm getting my fresh air if at all possible.
 
Moving to CT, and being a hunter, I was aprehensive about tromping about in the woods. However, I've found that long sleeves and long pants and a hat seem to do the trick for me. I tuck my pants into my boots, then put gaiters over the junction, and tuck my shirt into my pants. I've not had a tick yet. But then, most of my time in the woods is in the late summer, fall and winter months. My guess is that spring is worse (It was in Texas).
 
as mentioned above, adequate clothing, regular checking, and personally for me the tweezers in a Swiss army knife pulling at 90 degrees from the skin surface does the trick
 
I also have the misfortune to live in tick country. In fact the town of Old Lyme, the namesake of Lyme disease, is a mere 30 minute drive from me.

Apparently, if you are bitten by an infected tick, it has to feed on you for about 24 hours before it has a good chance of spreading the disease. That gives a decent chance of picking it off in time. The trick is to check yourself out thoroughly once or twice a day. Also, it seems like they crawl around on you for quite awhile before finally digging in, so there's time to spot them.
 
The time I got Lyme disease I was put on a 28 day cycle of Cipro. So prevention is a better method. I know a lot of game wardens who've had it several times and they all were treated with the same Cipro cycle.

Another vote for DEET.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top