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So what would happen if you got the Frontline dose for a real big dog and applied it to yourself? Would you be flea & tick proof for the next month?

daytripper wrote:So what would happen if you got the Frontline dose for a real big dog and applied it to yourself? Would you be flea & tick proof for the next month?

You'd start chasing squirrels.

I spend a lot of time in the woods and there are a lot of ticks where I live. My dog also brings them into the house often. I pull one off me pretty regularly. Usually I find it before it bites down. Dog ticks are no big deal and easy to spot. Deer ticks are a big deal and very hard to see this time of year. They can be as small as the head of a pin. Best practice is prevention. While deet may not be the most healthful chemical it sure beats tick borne disease. I have had many. I usually start antibiotics by now from missed deer ticks. Last year after I got sick we did a magnifying glass scan of my skin and found one we missed earlier that was minuscule and dead in my back. As far as getting them out I just pull. Works 99.9% of the time. Do a thorough scan when you get out of the woods.

The Tick Twister works real good and is cheap. Comes in a set of two sizes. Basically a small plastic claw hammer without the hammer head. Slides under the tick very close to the skin and then you twist it out.

From what I've heard, the disease they spread is from the blood inside their body, which takes some amount of time (24 hours or so) to become able to pass the disease. Regardless, the key is to not squish the tick (and pump the blood back into you) during removal. This is why I like the tick twister as you don't squeeze the tick in any way.

Around my house (lots of deer and mice, both of which are part of the life cycle) ticks are everywhere. If I go out in the woods or brush I'm picking off 3-15 ticks of various sizes and species. We find most of them before they attach through several inspections and wearing light clothing. I've been using Cutters with DEET but I still get lots.

From what I've read, peppermint oil works, but you risk causing the tick to vomit blood into your bloodstream. We've been using forms of the twist technique for years with a high degree of success. I'd like to try the Tick Twister. You can pull or twist them by hand, but it seems to me that pressuring the bulbous body encourages flow from the tick to you. A device that grips and twists the head and not the body sounds far better.

Has anybody tried the Sawyer Picaridin based insect repellents? I'm thinking of going with it this year. I have to drive through Northern Ontario in a couple of weeks, and we're staying at a fishing camp overnight en route... The mosquitos alone are starting to make think hard, let alone the black flies and ticks. My DEET stuff is expired and so I need to re-up. I'd love to know if anyone has any first-hand experience with these products.

https://sawyer.com/products/type/insect-repellents/

I ordered the spray can version on Amazon and will give it a try. There are 2000 reviews on Amazon, scroll through those.

https://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Products- ... llent&th=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope this will be available soon

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/05/12/l ... s-medical/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mister Moose wrote:Around my house (lots of deer and mice, both of which are part of the life cycle) ticks are everywhere. If I go out in the woods or brush I'm picking off 3-15 ticks of various sizes and species. We find most of them before they attach through several inspections and wearing light clothing. I've been using Cutters with DEET but I still get lots.

From what I've read, peppermint oil works, but you risk causing the tick to vomit blood into your bloodstream. We've been using forms of the twist technique for years with a high degree of success. I'd like to try the Tick Twister. You can pull or twist them by hand, but it seems to me that pressuring the bulbous body encourages flow from the tick to you. A device that grips and twists the head and not the body sounds far better.

yikes!!! i'd never go out or move to alaska. i freak out with a couple a season.

good stuff in this thread. got my order in for the twister & sawyers.

Big Bob wrote:I ordered the spray can version on Amazon and will give it a try. There are 2000 reviews on Amazon, scroll through those.

https://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Products- ... llent&th=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope this will be available soon

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/05/12/l ... s-medical/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the link to the info about the LymePReP defense antibody. That is WAY cool. I'm going to order the Sawyer product too. It sounds too-good-to-be-true, but I have been reading the reviews for a while now, and what initially attracted me to it is that it doesn't destroy your gear. I have had some nice diving gear somewhat wrecked by DEET, along with a Camelbak, and I always figured that if DEET could burn my dive computer it could probably do very bad things to my innerds! But I kept using it as there wasn't anything else that seemed to work very well.

Hopefully this Sawyer stuff works!

Someone was touting this doTERRA product to me a few days ago and he swears it works better than the DEET and he is fine with putting it on his children:

https://www.amazon.com/doTERRA-Terrashi ... 8HPRYM93Z9

I just hesitate to buy yet another hippy bug deterrent since none of the other ones that I have tried have ever really worked for more than 10 min. I guess $14 isn't too much to risk, so if I get it and it works, I'll let you all know.

Got the Sawyer's 20% Picaradin lotion and it was phenomenal yesterday evening. I had mosquitoes buzzing all around me but they would flee without landing after getting within a couple of inches. The little black flies didn't even get close. It also had no violently repulsive smell and didn't ruin my backpack after I handled it with the lotion on my hands.

Will try the doTERRA Terrashield on the next warmish evening when the deck is bug-ridden... I have it on now but there aren't any bugs out. It smells OK.

FYI, the doTERRA stuff worked pretty darn well too - bugs wouldn't land on me, but I didn't trek through any tick infested area. Just stood on the deck during prime mosquito feeding hour. I have no idea how long it will last before re-applying since I only tested it for about a half hour.

I also have been using the Sawyers stuff. It doesn't have an oder which is nice. Works well on mosquitoes, and the black flies at home, which are now gone after 2- 90 degree days. I have not found any ticks on myself, but it did not seem to deter the Maine black flies last weekend when we put the docks in at camp!! I was the lucky swimmer in 48 degree water and had a full wetsuit on so the only skin showing was my face. I sprayed some on a paper towel and patted it on my face being careful to keep it out of my eyes. They were not biting, but still drove me nuts. I finally put on my mask and snorkel and managed to suck a few down. We also had to mow and clean the leaves up in the yard. When I ran the back pack leave blower they left me alone.

Big Bob wrote:They were not biting, but still drove me nuts. I finally put on my mask and snorkel and managed to suck a few down. We also had to mow and clean the leaves up in the yard. When I ran the back pack leave blower they left me alone.

Great to hear it pretty much worked for you too. We tested it in some of the worst mosquito and black fly conditions that I have ever experienced on Friday/Saturday at a fishing camp in Northern Ontario and it freaking worked. Not a single bite. The blood-thirsty bugs would swarm all around you but not land. I did get the lotion version - and my only complaint is that the bottle should be bigger. We also slogged through the woods with shorts on to get around a giant puddle on a hiking trail, and not a tick was to be found.