I got a great email from a friend the other day regarding tick bites.  I wanted to pass it on to everyone in its entirety with his permission.  You can see the sites that he cross referenced.  Hope you get a better understanding on this so you can avoid these bites.

Jeff,

Doing some research after a friend told me of a horrible tick experience, I came up with this great information: One can be 99.9% sure of being free from ticks if two preventative steps are taken according to the DOD (yes – Department of Defense) this is what the Military and DOD agents use in the field.

  1. Treat your clothes with permethrin which is a wash that is colorless and odorless and works for up to 6 subsequent washings. (This is an insecticide that will actually kill the tick as it craws inside or outside of your clothes.
  2. Treat exposed skin with a Deet compound from 25 to 33 percent concentration.

**Both are safe because neither delivery system allows for much skin absorption. Both the Permethrin and the Deet compound are rather negligible in the absorption into the body. The EPA certifies both as safe.

In my research I think the best two products for this would be made by Sawyer.

  1. Treat your clothes with the Sawyer SP652 kit which includes 6 oz. of permethrin solution a plastic bag for soaking and plastic gloves.
  2. Treat your exposed skin with Sawyer’s SP526 which is a controlled release Deet bug lotion that is non-greasy and easy to wear. It can last up to 12 hours.

The ease of these treatments is that just a couple of minutes of preparation will prevent ticks to DOD specs. I will definitely be using both of these products in the future hunting and hiking. You can find both products at Bass Pro Shop, REI, or several different outdoor shops or on the Internet.

One more tip – if you want to steer clear of Lime’s disease or other blood born pathogens then think of using latex gloves the next time you are field dressing game. Many diseases can be acquired through contact with the dead animals blood.

For more information see www.tickinfo.com and www.sawyerproducts.com.

Stay safe,

Chris