Winter ticks are ruining my hunts

[Z7Extreme]

I spend quite a bit of time in the river valley as well and I get hammered by these little buggers every year. The bites last about 2-3 weeks and are super itchy. I have narrowed it down to the swamp grass as to where they like to be. Thanks for this thread, I'm going to look into that permethrin. Its been a few years since my first encounter so I have experienced quite a few bites over the years and so far I haven't seemed to contract anything from them.

[onetreeman]

I've used this in the spring while hunting Turkeys in BC. Sprayed it on all my hunting outer layers and let dry prior to heading out.

Cost is under $20 depending where you go to get it.

Contains:

0.05% PERMETHRIN
0.05% PYRETHRIN

Tested it by pulling ticks off my buddy's clothes (he did not use it) and placing them on mine. The ticks immediately raised their legs up and let go of the clothing and fell off. Unscientific testing, however since I started using it I have not had any problems with ticks.

https://www.petland.ca/products/sent...spray-for-dogs

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by moose maniac

Peavy mart in peace has 10 litre jugs of cattle back rub I think it’s called it has permethrin in it only issue is it’s mixed with mineral oil

Most likely oil based. All of the ones I saw so far for “heavy duty” are oil based.

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

5% permethrin available at peavy mart

https://www.peaveymart.com/animal-eq...cticide/222169


And again cheaper here.

https://www.syrvetcanada.ca/en/boss-...00-ml-mk056759

Idk if it’s oil or water based though. I’m not looking for tick repellent so I’ll leave some of that to you.

Those are oil based as well, I think. Would still have to be shipped though.



Also, Peavy Mart doesn’t have it, at least here. The other one you need a license to buy. Likely the same thing everywhere else they sell it.

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

This is supposed to be .5% too and ready to spray.

https://www.sasonline.ca/mosquito-sh...tment-002.html

I will look into that one further. Thanks.

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by Z7Extreme

I spend quite a bit of time in the river valley as well and I get hammered by these little buggers every year. The bites last about 2-3 weeks and are super itchy. I have narrowed it down to the swamp grass as to where they like to be. Thanks for this thread, I'm going to look into that permethrin. Its been a few years since my first encounter so I have experienced quite a few bites over the years and so far I haven't seemed to contract anything from them.

The only good thing about them is they don’t carry any wacky disease that they can pass on to peoplekind. That’s the only good thing though, lol.

I had been itching for a month last year. We will see how this year will pan out.

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by onetreeman

I've used this in the spring while hunting Turkeys in BC. Sprayed it on all my hunting outer layers and let dry prior to heading out.

Cost is under $20 depending where you go to get it.

Contains:

0.05% PERMETHRIN
0.05% PYRETHRIN

Tested it by pulling ticks off my buddy's clothes (he did not use it) and placing them on mine. The ticks immediately raised their legs up and let go of the clothing and fell off. Unscientific testing, however since I started using it I have not had any problems with ticks.

https://www.petland.ca/products/sent...spray-for-dogs

Good to know.

The Sawyer spray for human use they sell in the US has permethrin concentration of 0.5%. The one you used appears to be 10 times “weaker”. Good news is you say it still appears to be working.

I stopped by all (I think) the stores in town that can carry some tick sprays. So far, I found these:



^ 8 bucks at walmart. Permethrin concentration 0.25%. Says not to spray on animals.



^ 29 (I think) bucks at Peavey Mart. Permethrin concentration of 0.80% (!). Also says not to spray on animals.



^ 29 bucks at the pet store and 20 at Peavey Mart, lol. Can spray on animals but contains no permethrin.

So I have been thinking… If I can spray it on my couch and then sit on it for a couple of hours or longer with only my lucky gonch on in the middle of the hot summer evening, I should be fine spraying on my outer layer clothing and wearing it for a few days or a couple of weeks during the hunting season, no? The only problem is that it is still a little too warm midday for layers, hmm…

Leaning toward that 8-dollar bottle from walmart at the moment. Or even that 0.8% stuff from Peavey Mart. Need to look into what other nasty ingredients they may in them. The third one I think is out because there is no permethrin in it, but I may look into the active ingredients further.

Almost bought two Sawyer sprays from cabela’s yesterday, but then noticed there is a “shipping restriction” note there, but it gets me all the way to the credit card screen. Was going to try anyway, but don’t feel like dealing with potential refunds (because I know from personal experience they can screw it up badly). There a couple of other things I would buy from there if I knew these sprays would not be a problem.

P. S. I wonder if this is how a guy trying to score some ivermectin feels. Hahaha.

[fishnguy]

Ok, I am back, lol.

So… I did some more reading and went and bought the 20-dollar bottle at Peavy Mart that you spray directly on dogs and cats. The active ingredient in it is pyrethrins, which is the mix of natural chemicals extracted from chrysanthemum flowers. Apparently, this is what permethrin is based on. In other words, the smart people looked at pyrethrins and made a synthetic, more stable version of it and called it permethrin. An interesting aspect, however, according to technical data, pyrethrins have more cautions on the data sheet, including more potential allergic reactions, skin irritation, etc. At least I thought it was interesting. Another interesting thing to note, while permethrin, while wet, can be deadly to cats (apparently their bodies can’t “process” it fast enough, so higher concentrations can actually kill them), the “natural” ish I bought can be sprayed directly on them. Go figure. Both impact aquatic life in very negative ways. From my brief overview of the subject, I understand it affects the nervous system of fish (same is true for cats).

Also, permethrin is pretty much insoluble in water, which I suspect is why all that horse and cattle stuff is all oil based. This also made me think about “diluting” the higher concentration stuff in water. Hmm…

Anyway, I also looked at the reviews of Zodiac Flee and Tick Spray for Dogs and Cats (which is the one I bought) and they seem to be pretty good. There were even some left by hunters saying they spray their dogs and themselves and almost never get ticks as opposed to their hunting buddies who do all the time, etc. I very much doubt, however, that many or any of them ran into what some of us experienced though, lol. Also, all this “evidence” is anecdotal, if you like. BUT! I mentioned earlier, I still have some ticks crawling around.



(Insert maniacal laughter)

So on we go to experiments! Hahaha (more maniacal laughter).

I caught four of the little buggers with a paper towel. I sprayed three of them directly and placed the forth on the wet spot (cardboard I sprayed the paper towel on). Some time later all four died. The ones I sprayed directly slowed down noticeably and almost immediately. They were also first to expire. The one crawling around on the wet spot died too, but it took some time, maybe 20-30 minutes. It didn’t cover much distance though, maybe three quarters of an inch, an inch tops.

Up next, placing them on the previously sprayed paper towel that air dried and, hopefully, finding them dead some (not long) time later.

Sometimes, it is quite handy to have ticks readily available at your disposal. Laughing maniacally, again, lol.

Can’t say I am satisfied with the speed they expire, to be honest. I have a feeling, the next part of the experiment won’t produce good results. I guess, we will see.

Thinking of buying the other spray from Peavey Mart, the upholstery one with 0.8% permethrin concentration for $30, and performing the same set of experiments. I think that’s what I will do if the next stage with the current spray fails.

Edit: another thing to note, all these sprays have methoprene which is a hormone that regulates growth (it doesn’t let the egg or larvae develop further). Would be nice to do without.

[fishnguy]

We have three more participants in on what appears to be dry to touch paper towel.



They don’t seem to like it. We will see what happens.

[fishnguy]

Unexpected turn of events. Well, for me anyway. About 40 minutes later, all 3 participants are dead. Should have checked earlier… I was fairly certain it won’t work. All are also in about the same spot where they were to begins with.

The experiment will resume tomorrow evening on the same piece of paper towel.

[North40Rules]

A few years ago I was bear hunting in a stand of oak trees and when I walked out my clothes were covered in them. When I got home I immediately undressed and did a complete inspection, one was attached to my private area, gross!

When I got the bear I was hunting, I skinned him out, put his hide in a bag, and took him to my taxidermist the next day. When I opened the bag at his facility many hundreds of them were crawling all over his hide. I almost threw up and could not even bring myself to eat the meat because I was afraid of getting Lime Disease.

Ever since then when I am hunting I always wear my socks over my pants and tape my socks to my pants, a simple solution but it does seem to work.

Ticks are nasty and disgusting!

[lambski]

Speaking for myself I can honestly say that ive never even noticed a tick in the woods and I spend a lot of time outdoors.

[fishnguy]

^ Before last year, I haven’t seen a tick since I was about 12 years old, or younger even

Dropped another bugger on the paper towel and it is dead. I am going to bring some inside the house and see if the warmer temperature makes any difference.

[tri777]

Originally Posted by fishnguy

Unexpected turn of events. Well, for me anyway. About 40 minutes later, all 3 participants are dead.
Should have checked earlier… I was fairly certain it won’t work. All are also in about the same spot w
here they were to begins with.

The experiment will resume tomorrow evening on the same piece of paper towel.

Love these tests you are doing !!
Try some gas mixed with a bit of oil (so it doesn't evaporate quickly), I'm curious..if I had access to
ticks I would be trying all sorts of things, lol.

[fishnguy]

^ Haha. I can take you where I can guarantee you would pick some up, tri. You will be able to experiment a lot, lol. Drive up for a walk!

I am just trying to figure out how to keep them off me because it doesn’t look like I can (or don't want to) keep off the places where I pick them up. Maybe it will help someone else along the way. Or not, lol. I will be happy if they fall off me or (maybe better yet) die few minutes after catching a ride.

[tri777]

Originally Posted by fishnguy

^ Haha. I can take you where I can guarantee you would pick some up, tri. You will be able to experiment a lot, lol. Drive up for a walk!

I am just trying to figure out how to keep them off me because it doesn’t look like I can (or don't want to) keep off the places where I pick them up. Maybe it will help someone else along the way. Or not, lol. I will be happy if they fall off me or (maybe better yet) die few minutes after catching a ride.

What about getting one of those cheap electric fly swatters from a dollar store, getting some fine mesh steel
screen, cutting out pattern & solder onto swatter screen.. use while walking in bush as a gentle bat in front of
you, if some of the devils get on you, press button/zap'em ?(perhaps modify battery compartment for
a 9V battery instead of the 2AA's)

https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Swat...239300&sr=8-45

[fishnguy]

Beside being impractical, I don’t think that’s going to work very well. They cover you chest down. Maybe on the head too, but I never looked. Also, they are tiny. On this pic, it actually looks bigger than it really is:



The tick is that dot next to the match. Maybe if they were all holding hands, lol.

Also, imagine a guy walking the bush with that thing in one hand and a rifle in the other

[fishnguy]

Well, it appears there have been a bit of a disappointing drawback in my experiment. I threw three more individuals on the paper towel from yesterday and watched them for about 10 minutes or so. Two definitely didn't like the experience and kept trying to “stand up” on their back legs. One was kind of not here not there. I couldn't check earlier, but about an hour later two were dead and one still kept moving, but definitely appeared to be severely incapacitated.

So I shook them off and went to get the next set of participants. To my great disappointment, it was hard to find any that were still alive and substantially active. I mean there are a few, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with the results because I wouldn’t know if it was the paper or they just died. It looks like it was their time to expire “naturally”, be it low humidity, being outside of their habitat, or whatever reason, I don’t know. Can’t even say if the spray still worked 24 hours later or not because those on it may have died just like all others did. Womp womp.



At least for now, lol.

I guess the plan is to spray my clothing with this stuff the evening before heading out in the morning (or spray in the morning if I am heading out later in the day) and see what happens. Worst comes to worst, I will get another sample to experiment with, maybe with that upholstery spray from Peavey Mart and see if that one works better.

[graybeard]

Originally Posted by fishnguy

^ Before last year, I haven’t seen a tick since I was about 12 years old, or younger even

Dropped another bugger on the paper towel and it is dead. I am going to bring some inside the house and see if the warmer temperature makes any difference.

I tip my hat to fishnguy as you have done a lot of research on ticks....
I am glad to see you educating others.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...ighlight=ticks

The downside of the ticks is the Lymes disease it can cause...

Just search ticks and/or lymes and the information available will make you sit up and take note.

Good luck and thanks again fishnguy and everyone else who have contributed.....

Cheers,
GB

[Ticdoc]

Fishnguy and I discussed this a lot last year. No easy answers. Firstly though, some comments on this thread do not deal with the winter tick (also called moose tick) because this tick does not get on deer, moose, etc, humans in late winter-spring-summer. But, as I mentioned last year, the Peace River country is without doubt the hot spot for winter ticks in Alberta, but we found in our extensive research that virtually every moose, elk or deer get reinfested every autumn into early Nov. of their life. They are tick-free in summer. The aspen parkland ecotone of central Alberta is another hot spot, so 936 has all the host and vegetation ingredients. But humans getting larval stage winter ticks on them in Sept-Oct is a relatively new thing. Die-offs of moose covered with winter ticks over winter was common during my studies (1980 into the year 2000) so why not now in those places where you hunters are getting infested. Do not know, but winter ticks are causing problems for moose through moose range in North America and killing thousands of moose, mainly calves almost yearly in places like New Hampshire and Maine. And moose numbers have decreased significantly in Minnesota and southern Manitoba with winter ticks seeming to play a large role. I published a book that is not very technical called White as a Ghose; Winter Ticks and Moose, published by Nature Alberta, Edmonton, AB. Very inexpensive and I do not make a dime. Lots of photos. If you need more info on how to get it, etc, I am on Facebook ....Bill Samuel. Send me private message and I will converse in email. Good luck folks.

[dgl1948]

Military uses permethrin on clothing and sleeping bags when they are in countries that have crawling creatures.

[fishnguy]

^ They do. I find it kind of weird that we can’t here.

Originally Posted by Ticdoc

Fishnguy and I discussed this a lot last year. No easy answers. Firstly though, some comments on this thread do not deal with the winter tick (also called moose tick) because this tick does not get on deer, moose, etc, humans in late winter-spring-summer. But, as I mentioned last year, the Peace River country is without doubt the hot spot for winter ticks in Alberta, but we found in our extensive research that virtually every moose, elk or deer get reinfested every autumn into early Nov. of their life. They are tick-free in summer. The aspen parkland ecotone of central Alberta is another hot spot, so 936 has all the host and vegetation ingredients. But humans getting larval stage winter ticks on them in Sept-Oct is a relatively new thing. Die-offs of moose covered with winter ticks over winter was common during my studies (1980 into the year 2000) so why not now in those places where you hunters are getting infested. Do not know, but winter ticks are causing problems for moose through moose range in North America and killing thousands of moose, mainly calves almost yearly in places like New Hampshire and Maine. And moose numbers have decreased significantly in Minnesota and southern Manitoba with winter ticks seeming to play a large role. I published a book that is not very technical called White as a Ghose; Winter Ticks and Moose, published by Nature Alberta, Edmonton, AB. Very inexpensive and I do not make a dime. Lots of photos. If you need more info on how to get it, etc, I am on Facebook ....Bill Samuel. Send me private message and I will converse in email. Good luck folks.

Thank you for chiming in, Bill. I am itching again this year, haha.

I will shoot you an email in the next couple of days.

[Moosetalker]

Dr Doom spray has Permethrin as an active ingredient.

[350 mag]

Thanks for this thread...

Pretty sure these are same ticks we have in Sask....they were horrible in the Porcupine Hills this year.

[fishnguy]

Bumpers!

The experiment continues. But first, I said this last year

Originally Posted by fishnguy

Thank you for chiming in, Bill. I am itching again this year, haha.

I will shoot you an email in the next couple of days.

And I feel like a complete ass because I have never emailed Ticdoc. I want to sincerely apologize for that and I will try to rectify that this season.


Now the experiment… First time I caught these nasty little guys this year was the end of August (29th, I believe). I was pretty sure it was still early, so I didn’t prepare myself and got caught off guard; well, not really, but still, I didn’t really expect to see them.

I haven’t gone that way since because I was occupied with pheasant hunting and other things, as well as spending some time on top of the hills rather than in the valley. Well, the time is ticking (unintended pun? Lol) and with the gun season here, I want to go and shoot a bull, and hopefully a good one, haha, but the mind is kind of pre-occupied with these ****ing things. It is very distracting. However!

My experiment went “live” today, lol. The other day, my cousin found a spot on top of the hill where he saw a few of these creatures. While we are at it, when I was hunting pheasant and doing other things, he hit the valley a few times in September and he got dozens of bites to show for it. I can’t make any definitive statement and my “evidence” is anecdotal, really, but I do feel like it has gotten progressively worse since my first encounter with these guys. And I see them higher up the valley every year and this year all the way on top, where they haven’t been before. Or they have been, but I never ran into them.

Anyway, I sprayed my pants, boots, and jacket (even though I wasn’t planning on wearing it or heading that deep but just in case) with the Zodiac spray (pictured last in post number 36). This is the one I experimented with last year, as explained in the numerous posts above. I sprayed it all outside around 5 pm and left it all hanging there to air out and dry on the sun and wind. I didn’t soak it, by no means, but I still feel like I did it liberally, likely more than I needed. Just before 7, I put that clothing on, grabbed my gun, backpack, elk calls just in case and hit the road. Well, it is only a few-minute drive, so not much road. I was at the spot around 7:15, haha. I sent a bugle waited a bit, heard no replies, and went looking for ticks. It didn’t take long to find a few. First, I noticed two or three on my pants. They were pretty easy to shake off with my hand, which, those familiar with these buggers know, is almost impossible to do. So that was a good sign. I moved to another spot less than 100 yards away because I couldn’t find any more ticks where I was. Sent another bugle into the valley and walked around in almost waste-high grass. Happened to catch another half a dozen of them. Still no bugles to answer my calls. By the time I took the phone and turned the camera on to look at them (it is much easier to see what they are doing if you magnify and focus on them with the camera), there were only two left on my pants and I saw the third one let go and drop. Well that was a good sign. I felt good, but I wasn’t convinced. I am planning to hit the “epicentre” this weekend, if all works out, and really want to know that this works. With no response from elk, neither to bugle or cow calls, I simply went and started doing circles in the grass in a spiral like fashion heading outward. I finally hit the mini-mother-load, lol.





Not the best pics, but you get the idea. Imagine having dozens of patches like this all over your clothes, head to toe, so to speak, after passing by a bush or two? I did. It ain’t nice when you realize what is happening. First time was the worst but I only clued in way after the fact, lol.

Anyway, back to the subject matter and what’s important. So I caught this good patch with a few dozens (hundreds? There was more than what’s on the pictures) of baby ticks. I was pretty happy and satisfied, lol. One thing was pretty clear here: they do not like it! I made this little gif from the video I took where you guys might see (or not?) them actually dropping off the fabric.



Hmm… I don’t know… Probably it is pretty hard to see anything there, but I tried. Regardless, they want to get out of there as fast as they can and they are dropping! This is what the same spots on my pants looked like after I walked about 10-15 meters in that same grass:



I can count about 13-15 of them in that picture or a better version of it on my phone. That would be about 2-3 minutes after catching them on. A few minutes later, there where none left. I checked my pants fairly thoroughly when I came home and nada. You can see what it looked like “as is” after I got home and started this thread in the very first post here. Quite a difference and a success, in my opinion.

Now on to to the next step and find out how long it is good for. I will try to hit the same spot and find more of them in these same pants before heading out on the weekend and see if it still works. Will update here. The label on the bottle says that it kills some whatever dog/cat ticks for up to 7 days after treatment. We will see what happens. Hey, if all those that were in contact with it today (and will be later on) die, that would be a bonus!

Hopefully, this info will help others in their adventures, which is the whole point of this thread now.

Good luck!

[58thecat]

I walked in this morning now I got myself checking and feeling crawling things
Gross


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ken.gee]

Originally Posted by fishnguy

Yes, I tried looking for it last year, with no success. Tried again today and found this:



https://thekoregarden.ca/product/gar...y-insecticide/



Comes up to $40 shipped. Wonder if there is something similar available in the stores under a different name. Maybe some farm supplies stores? Would love to have it in hands sooner rather than later, as the clock is not on my side as far as elk hunting goes.

This is the exact stuff I use - I dilute the 500mL bottle with 500mL of water, which gets me a ratio of 0.625% permethrin, a tad stronger than recommended but works wonders.

Currently hunting 360 & 521 and have been running into these critters for 5 years. Permethrin works wonders...in the garage I string a ratchet strap through 2 of my meat hanging eye hooks in the ceiling, and use that as a clothesline to hang all of my hunting gear. Everything gets a liberal spray, from my outer layer of clothing, backpack, fabric on my bugle tube, to my tripod bag. Have watched the ticks quickly lose their ability to hold on,

I now buy 2 or 3 bottles at a time when I order, and set them aside. The price is negligible for me vs the constant paranoia I used to feel when covered in these things while they made their way to your nearest exposed skin. Now they lose grip and fall off without even moving 1cm....a beautiful thing.

For what it's worth, the stuff also keeps well. It sits in the chemical cabinet in the garage, and I used last years opened and diluted bottle, and it appears to be working just as well as the new stuff. I used approx 60% of the new concentrated bottle, diluted of course, decanted into a cheap Canadian Tire spray bottle and applied via fine mist. All clothes and apparel is dampened with the stuff, every side and inch of the clothing <except for inside> gets caught in the sweeping motion of the mist. If I recall correctly (based on what I read when I first started applying permethrin), similar permethrin products last 6 months or 6 washes, so I'd expect this to be similar...but even if it's only for a few weeks that's fine, I only get down here to hunt elk for one week/yr..

Had to wash some pieces of clothing at the laundromat after breaking down and packing out my mature bull a few days ago, and found out this evening that the ticks are dying just as quickly on the washed clothing. SUCCESS!

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

[KGB]

Ultra shield at the G&E Pharmacy in the horse section, $26. Contains 0,5% permethrin and works like a charm. And it smells good too!

[fishnguy]

Good info, guys, and thanks for sharing. Would rather have little to no smell though.

Weird that a guy cant’s just go to a store and buy a bottle of Sawyer like can be done in the US. Everything I read says it is bad for insects (as well as marine life and cats), but fine for human. Can be used for agricultural purposes in Canada, yet a guy cannot spray his clothes and shoes with it. Seems weird. Also banned in EU, it appears. Though they have (or had) some bug repellent spray called Nobite Textile (if I recall correctly) with permethrin concentration of 2%!

The abstract from the UN/WHO study states the follwoing:

Evaluates the design and findings of over 250 studies concerned with the effects on human health and the environment posed by permethrin, a photostable synthetic pyrethroid insecticide marketed since 1977. Because of its strong repellent properties and effectiveness as a stomach and contact insecticide, permethrin is widely used in the protection of several agricultural crops, in the control of insects in households and on cattle, in aerial application for forest pest control, as a fog in mushroom houses, and as a wood preservative. Public health applications include the disinsection of aircraft, treatment of mosquito nets, and human lice control. In view of the uses of permethrin and its photostable properties, a section devoted to sources of human exposure concentrates on the large number of studies investigating residues in fruits, vegetables, dairy milk, and grains. Findings from laboratory studies, indicating that permethrin is highly toxic to certain beneficial insects and natural enemies of pests, are contrasted with field investigations demonstrating the transitory nature of most toxic and repellent effects on non-target species. The most extensive section reviews the findings of experimental studies conducted to assess toxicity. Paricular attention is given to differences in study design, dose, and mode of administration that can affect the validity of findings when extrapolated to humans. The final section draws upon a limited number of occupational and clinical studies to evaluate direct evidence of adverse effects on health. On the basis of this review, the book concludes that most toxic effects are transitory, that the likelihood of carcinogenic effects in humans is extremely low or non-existent, and that permethrin, when used as recommended, is not likely to present a hazard to the general public, exposed workers, or the environment.

Can pour on a horse or cattle that browse the fields 24/7 months on, but have to go through all this hassle and spray stuff not meant for humans in order to hike the bush for a few days. Makes sense.

Edit: I should add that deet, that melts plastic and is half useless against bugs and 100% useless against ticks (in my experience) is perfectly legal.

[Sundog57]

Icaridin seems to work for deer ticks (black legged ticks) out here (be glad you don't have the little buggers in Alberta) everyone who does anything outdoors, Ontario and east is in danger of contracting Lyme.
I spray my legs with it before I put on my pants and then spray some on my clothes. Not sure about moose ticks but deer ticks seem to like to get on low and climb.

The down side of Permethrin is that it kills fish at extremely low concentrations - ie if you wash your clothes and the wash water goes into a river, even after treatment.

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by Sundog57

Icaridin seems to work for deer ticks (black legged ticks) out here (be glad you don't have the little buggers in Alberta) everyone who does anything outdoors, Ontario and east is in danger of contracting Lyme.
I spray my legs with it before I put on my pants and then spray some on my clothes. Not sure about moose ticks but deer ticks seem to like to get on low and climb.

I tried icaridin last year. I believe that is what my first post in this thread is about. That spray pictured in the first post is icaridin based (20%, I believe) and it didn’t do anything at all. See the pictures of my pants hours later - the ticks were all over, hundreds or thousands of them. Deet shows the same effect, which appears to be nill.

Originally Posted by Sundog57

The down side of Permethrin is that it kills fish at extremely low concentrations - ie if you wash your clothes and the wash water goes into a river, even after treatment.

I read a good part of that study the abstract of which I quoted above. It appears the amount of permethrin that would come from washed clothing items will be extremely negligible on any life, including fish and other aquatic. The stuff I sprayed above has pyrethrins, which is essentially the same thing, but naturally occurring and what synthetic permethrin was based on. Pyrethrin has similar effect but has a much shorter life and better dealt with by aquatic and other life. Funny enough though, it is more prone to cause allergic reactions in humans. Go figure.

So far I know for a fact that icaridin doesn’t work on these things and pyrethrin does. I also noticed (just now realized) that mosquitoes didn’t annoy me one bit, while usually there a few. But I can’t say they bother me much.

I ordered a couple of bottles of Sawyer permethrin spray from the US. We will see what happens and if it gets over the border.