Thread: How much do I hate ticks?

A lot. I am referring to the tiny, blood-sucking parasites that are the bane of my outdoor activities in late summer. The following is the telling of recent encounters and what I have learned to fix the tick problem.

I have challenged myself to walk, hike, or run 10 miles a week. The best way to keep myself motivated is to hike local trails. Being in the woods is always interesting and does not get boring like walking the paved bike paths in town. Luckily there are some horse trails nearby that I can hike. The horse traffic keeps the vegetation down, thus keeping contact with ticks to a minimum. Last month I arrived at the trail head and realized I left my insect repellent in my buddies truck. "No problem" I thought since the trail was free of vegetation. Well, it wasn't. Ten minutes into my hike I came across a section of trail that was grown over and had to wade through the foliage. While wading through I became infested with those tiny seed ticks. Hundreds of them on my legs and torso. Seed ticks are small, about the size of the ball on a pen, and itch like crazy. I resigned myself to finish the hike and put up with the irritation. The drive home was hellish. Once home I left my shoes on the porch, threw my clothes in the garage, and went to take a shower.

From past experience I knew that showering would not remove all of the ticks. In the past I would shower and then use tweezers to pick off one by one, or scrape them off with a credit card or butter knife. I even considered shaving them off at one point. Looking around the bathroom I saw an empty spray bottle. Inspiration struck. I filled the spray bottle with rubbing alcohol, steeped into the shower, and sprayed everything from the chin down. I waited a minute and then proceeded to shower. Afterwards I found a couple of ticks embedded in my leg and ankle. I was able to pull them out with tweezers and they were already dead from the alcohol.

Last night I had a similar experience during a trail run. Filled up the spray bottle and problem solved. I still plan to take precautions like using insect repellent, but now I have a plan of action for those times when precautions fail.

Wow!! I just scratched off Rural Missouri from my travel agenda.


,,,,,,,,,glad to see your O.K.

Seriously, the tiny little buggers seem to show up in August and they can be worse than I described. I consider myself an Outdoorsman but limit my outdoor activities in late summer because of these vermin.
Did I mention I hate ticks?

Is this just the livestock areas, or is this a problem in people's yards?

Tricky question to answer because livestock areas and yards are in close proximity for people living in the county.
In my area yards in town are usually not a problem. The people that live in the countryside have problems with ticks close to the house. Basically anywhere with trees and tall grass, unless they are sprayed. The hiking/horse trails I frequent are on state land 5-10 minutes drive from town. They are surrounded by farms and people that have built houses on large acreage.

Btw, I have met people from Florida that drive up for bow season. Missouri has a lot of state land that is open to hunting, plus non-resident licenses are pretty reasonable.

Down here, the Eucalyptus spray works great for the mosquitoes,,,Deet of course, at a high percentage. Would the Eucalyptus spray keep ticks off?

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Down here, the Eucalyptus spray works great for the mosquitoes,,,Deet of course, at a high percentage. Would the Eucalyptus spray keep ticks off?

I don't know. I have tried making my own repellent with vodka, local plants, and tea tree oil. The problem is that sweating and rubbing against vegetation seems to "wash away" insect repellent. I have noticed while fishing in late summer that repellent containing Deet only has about a 10-20 minute window of effectiveness when it comes to mosquitoes, mainly due to sweating.

This is one of my first concerns when looking to relocate. I will remember to wear a tic/mosquito proof suit when I visit you guy's states.

10 pups, that suit is not far from what I have seen. Some people do wear rubber boots, pants, and long sleeve shirts when out in the woods. They tuck the pants in to the boots and tape them off, tape off where the shirt tucks into the pants, then tape off the cuffs of the shirt. Afterwards they spray on repellent.
This works for some activities but is too hot and cumbersome for hiking/running.
With that, off to hike.

Really I have no problem with the tiny critters. I eat a lot of garlic (mostly to keep vamps away) and between that and smoking I must taste like crap to bugs. I can stand next to someone getting eaten alive and not get bit once. I eat a lot of hot sauces too. :<0)
Those B-52 mosquitoes I hear coming in for a landing most times and squish em. If I don't they will taste me which leaves an itch but no bump.
There has to be something that will work for you.