Ticks in the camp

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep ticks out of a tent while camping? These guys can climb all over our campsite if they wish, but not in the tent.

Anyone have any time-tested solutions to this besides the use of chemicals and toxins?

[Cheesehead Dave]

[Team Deejay]

@Cheesehead Dave wrote:

Oh, that is hilarious! 😀

There is a product out there called Repel Permanone. This is an aerosol containing permethrin, which is an insecticide. They claim that you can spray iit on gear, clothing, etc. (NOT ON SKIN!) ahead of time and it will repel/kill ticks for some period of time. I have not tried it, but others swear by it. You should be aware that some people will sensitive to exposure to this, so I would recommend that you do a backyard campout with the kids to test it out. You don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere with a couple kids having alergic reactions. You should also be aware that permethrin will kill most insects who come in contact with it (thats why the ticks avoid it), so if you don’t want to kill ants, butterflies, crickets, etc. in the area of your tent, this might not be a solution for you.

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

Funny guy Dave! 😆

As for the Permethrin, that stuff is more toxic than Deet!

[seekers8711]

😀

I have used Permethrin spray, (Gander Mountain, REI, etc) for 4 years.

Follow can directions and lay your camping/geocaching clothes on your clean driveway, (cement is best), and spray (until slightly wet)–your socks, underwear, pants, shirts, hat & gloves. Wait until dry, then flip them over and same on the other side. Hang on clothesline for about an hour or two until fully dry.

There is NO odor, (I would test on a kids T shirt) and one more thing:

YOU CAN WASH THESE SAME CLOTHES 3-5 TIMES AND NOT LOSE THE REPELLING CHEMICAL.

Keeps mosquitoes, ticks, and many other nasty critters away.

Used in Wisconsin in deep woods and for 3 years in the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness.

Don’t leave home without it.

My $ .02 worth

[cheezehead]

Out ticks are soooo tuff up here that sometimes that stuff does not help.
I sprayed that on a pair of jeans that I wear when out in the woods and I still and ticks on them, but not as many. It does work pretty good thou any other time.

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

@seekers8711 wrote:

😀

I have used Permethrin spray, (Gander Mountain, REI, etc) for 4 years.

Follow can directions and lay your camping/geocaching clothes on your clean driveway, (cement is best), and spray (until slightly wet)–your socks, underwear, pants, shirts, hat & gloves. Wait until dry, then flip them over and same on the other side. Hang on clothesline for about an hour or two until fully dry.

There is NO odor, (I would test on a kids T shirt) and one more thing:

YOU CAN WASH THESE SAME CLOTHES 3-5 TIMES AND NOT LOSE THE REPELLING CHEMICAL.

Keeps mosquitoes, ticks, and many other nasty critters away.

Used in Wisconsin in deep woods and for 3 years in the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness.

Don’t leave home without it.

My $ .02 worth

Once again, thank you, but I’m looking for something NON-TOXIC
I’d rather myself/wife/son got Lyme, than cancer ya know? 🙂

[labrat_wr]

Found this on Care2 greenliving website

Tick Repellant

by Annie Berthold-Bond
I dug deep in my herbal formula books for this recipe out of desperation, given that I live in the epicenter of the tick-generated Lyme disease epidemic. I tested the essential oil that is recommended for ticks, Rose Geranium, by putting a few drops—no more!— on our dogs’ collars, to see if it would repel ticks. Lo and behold, we went from 20 ticks a day on each dog, to none. The second best essential oil for repelling ticks is American Pennyroyal (also called tickweed).
SIMPLE SOLUTION:
2 tablespoons vegetable or nut oil (almond oil contains sulfur, a repellent in its own right)
10 to 25 drops Rose Geranium essential oil
Combine the ingredients in a glass jar; shake to blend.
Makes: 2 tablespoons
Shelf Life: 6 months

Dab a few drops on your skin or clothing, making sure to avoid eyes.

Caution
Skip the Pennyroyal if there is anyone pregnant (including pets) in the home, as it can induce miscarriage. And as always, use essential oils with caution as they can burn the skin and harm eyes. Don’t use these essential oils around cats.

HELPFUL HINTS:
Palmerosa is a sister essential oil to Rose Geranium, and also repels ticks. It is cheaper, and sometimes easier to find than Rose Geranium.
Another good repellent that also worked on our dogs, is to eat garlic pills (but don’t give garlic to cats). A number of people have written me to say that they have had good luck with their dogs and themselves, by keeping to the garlic pill eating regimen every day.
The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) reported in their winter of 1996 Journal of Pesticide Reform that nymphal ticks are reduced from 72.7 to 100 percent when dead leaves are removed from the forest areas surrounding residential areas.

Let us all know your results, if you choose to try this.

Disclaimer : Always answering to a higher power.

[Timberline Echoes]

I don’t think ticks just crawl into tents they are usually carried in on humans and pets… so if you put tick free stuff in the tent and change into tick free clothes (or no clothes) when entering you should cut the number of ticks in the tent down.
Mrs. TE

[Jay Mills]

Any experience with Picaridin as a repellent active agent?

[Team Deejay]

Jay, you are absolutely correct that Permethrin is a carcinogen. And, surprisingly, I agree with you that using it close to the body is riskier than getting bites.

DEET, on the other hand, is not a carcinogen and is generally safe. Some people might have allergic reactions to it, but in general, it is the preferred choice for repellants.

Jim, We did tests on Picaridin. It had approximately 1/8 the repellant effect of DEET, so we chose not to produce products with this repellant. This level is approximately the same repellant effect as citronella, eucalyptus, and other herbal repellants.

[hogrod]

@Team Deejay wrote:

Jay, you are absolutely correct that Permethrin is a carcinogen. And, surprisingly, I agree with you that using it close to the body is riskier than getting bites.

DEET, on the other hand, is not a carcinogen and is generally safe. Some people might have allergic reactions to it, but in general, it is the preferred choice for repellants.

Deet does NOTHING to reduce tick exposure, you could soak them in it and they would still keep looking for a good place to bite. Permethin(0.5% mix) is considered very safe for humans. you do not put in on clothing that is close to skin, so there should be very little adverse effects. ticks that touch the pants you have used permethin on will usually curl up and die within a few seconds of touching the pants.

we eat and drink things daily that have also been found to be carcinogens(check your food & drink products for Sodium benzoate). Permathin exposure(0.5%) a few weeks a year is not going to kill you and your kids, though it’s great to be concerned. I personally HATE ticks, and don’t want to ever find them on me, so I would rather have some form of protection than nothing at all.

I was reading online about bait boxes they are using out east to reduce the tick population, do they have any program like this in Wisconsin?

[Team Deejay]

@hogrod wrote:

I was reading online about bait boxes they are using out east to reduce the tick population, do they have any program like this in Wisconsin?

Why do you think the DNR lets us geocache on their land? Geocacher = Bait

[hogrod]

@Team Deejay wrote:

@hogrod wrote:

I was reading online about bait boxes they are using out east to reduce the tick population, do they have any program like this in Wisconsin?

Why do you think the DNR lets us geocache on their land? Geocacher = Bait

I feel a bit like bait when I go into the woods, everyone else won’t get any ticks, I’ll pull 10 or more off of me! Seriously though in some of our red zone areas it would seem they would want to have some sort of control measures in place. There is a bit of info at the links below about the rodent bait method of tick control.

http://tinyurl.com/yvzzgu

or

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/maxforce_tick_management_system_application.htm

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

@hogrod wrote:

@Team Deejay wrote:

Jay, you are absolutely correct that Permethrin is a carcinogen. And, surprisingly, I agree with you that using it close to the body is riskier than getting bites.

DEET, on the other hand, is not a carcinogen and is generally safe. Some people might have allergic reactions to it, but in general, it is the preferred choice for repellants.

Deet does NOTHING to reduce tick exposure, you could soak them in it and they would still keep looking for a good place to bite. Permethin(0.5% mix) is considered very safe for humans. you do not put in on clothing that is close to skin, so there should be very little adverse effects. ticks that touch the pants you have used permethin on will usually curl up and die within a few seconds of touching the pants.

we eat and drink things daily that have also been found to be carcinogens(check your food & drink products for Sodium benzoate). Permathin exposure(0.5%) a few weeks a year is not going to kill you and your kids, though it’s great to be concerned. I personally HATE ticks, and don’t want to ever find them on me, so I would rather have some form of protection than nothing at all.

I was reading online about bait boxes they are using out east to reduce the tick population, do they have any program like this in Wisconsin?

So does permathin work against mosquitos too? Or would Deet/Lemon Eucalyptus be required as well?

[Author]

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