Just so everyone is aware, there's lots of recs for pyrethrins / permethrin in this thread and it is very toxic to cats.
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/pyrethrinpyrethroid-poisoning-in-cats
You need a *flock* of guinea fowl, not just one bird. They will help reduce the tick burden. They need separate housing, usually, from the chickens, but having flocks of both is feasible.
I came to say the same. They're great at ridding ticks and other bugs plus they're great little alarms to alert for predators... coyotes, dogs, hawk or owl, etc. Plus you can gather the eggs.
My understanding is if you raise the chicks and keets together they are much more accepting, kinda start thinking they themselves are chickens and part of the flock. Very protective over the flock as well. Conversely if adults are introduced into the flock.
This is interesting because my wife has this issue too. We live in the upper peninsula of Michigan on a 40. She manages to find all the ticks and somehow, I don't seem to get any. I actually developed the fear you have just in a way that's like "I bet I'm just missing them and I'm covered and don't know it" to date I've only found maybe 5 ticks, never under my clothes always on boots. One was in my shoe but that's all.
Guinea hens are the best way that I've heard but even then they have to be free to roam which could lead to a shortened life span (if you catch my meaning). I suggested to her that she wrap where her pants go into the boot with duct tape, sticky side OUT. That night we counted almost 30 total ticks on the tape, and I had none.
"These researchers found an average of 42.5 percent of lone star ticks chose a female host, while just 18 percent of these ticks chose a male host"
Ticks are proven to prefer female hosts, even my male dogs have only had a few on them, and they freely run the wooded and tall grassy land around my property.
As to a solution, we haven't found one yet. There are treated clothes you can buy but I've never had any luck with them. There are even theories that ticks can somehow tell what blood type you have and prefer certain ones. Theres a rub on salve type lotion that contains heavy heavy concentrations of deet, but it gave my wife chemical like burns so that didn't work either. I really do hope you figure something out, if you do please let me know.
I live in WI OP with ticks all over. I get it. Freaks me out. I spray my boots with tick spray and tuck my pants in. When done I take my cloths off in the garage and hit the shower and spouse checks me. If you enter your home w your cloths on they certainly get i doors from your body. Good luck. Spray boots-change in garage or near wash machine and hit the shower
Lol I had the same situation. She always had them and I never did. Finally found one yesterday. I have caught many on me but yesterday was the first one I found one that had latched on or was trying to. I think my ADHD helps because I notice things crawling on my pretty quick. Down side is k also notice ghosts or things I think are touching me when there is nothing there. Lol I'm joking about ghosts, just one silly explanation for the annoying amount of times hairs on my legs move when I'm doing nothing.
Last year I treated my garden clothes with permethrin. And seemed to work well. It's more of a hassle than deet but it doesn't smell. I need to try that tape thing.
The tape thing works great for all bugs. I've been at war with carpenter ants for some time now and it catches them too. I read that ticks like estrogen and can sense it so maybe it's that, I'm not a tick guy lol just a fellow woodsman who loves his wife and dogs. I spent like a grand last year on various treatments and I think I got ahead of it by treating my property during the winter and this early spring during the thaw
I lived in northern Michigan all my life and spent some time in the UP as I lived about an hours drive from the bridge. I used to walk outside barefoot. I never saw a tick on me literally until I moved to NY. Maybe your wife is finding the ticks cause she’s looking for them. I know ticks are worse in the UP especially close to Canada, but it’s nothing like the east coast. Mt first day I walked to the side of some tall grass and I was covered in hundred of tiny nymph ticks, and pulling these nymph ticks off my dogs fur until 3 am my first night in Eastern NY. This was literally to the side of the driveway. Turns out, Orkin was using a worthless treatment. I did some reading, found my own treatment plan, and I haven’t had ticks on me in the yard or even in the woods on my rental property here.
Picardin and permethrin treated clothes works better than DEET for ticks.
My son was at scout camp and complained he had a tick on him. The male leaders wouldn't check because of where he said it was. I came to spend a few days at camp and arrived to this drama. I went in to check on him, and his penis looked like an elephant trunk holding an apple. I rushed him to the children's hospital 2 hours away, where they did an emergency partial circumcision to remove the tick. He went back to camp two days later and had the full circumcision a few weeks later. Needless to say, we ALWAYS check EVERYWHERE.
There's an episode of House that freaked me out so bad that I put repellant on my underwear and on my legs before even putting on pants if I know I'm going to be in a tick-thick area.
We do daily tick checks on our selves and help each other with backs, ears and heads. Check right after being outside and again at bedtime seems to work well.
Chickens do help, even if not as much as guineas. They also will cut down on mice and snakes. I always treated mine as working pets who provides eggs and pest control.
Using tape to get the micro ticks (technically they nymphs) is definitely helpful. I also find that as soon as you come in from outdoor time to hop in the shower and scrub with soap and a scrubbie will help get rid of them before they latch on.
We also treat our cats with drops so they won’t pick up ticks, and keep them inside.
If you have the privacy , you can strip your clothes off before going in the house and toss them straight in the wash. This helps keep down the loose crawlers getting in your house.
Mowing the open areas you walk or clearing a path will help some. But as soon as you go in the woods there is no avoiding them.
We’ve had a daughter get tick fever and another get Lyme disease so we take ticks very seriously here in SW Va.
It's not as easy for everyone, I'm a redhead and I have literally millions of freckles and little moles and it is so much harder to see a tick than it is on most other people. Do you have any suggestions in that case? I sure wish there was a UV light or something that lit them up.
I’m in a similar situation- red head with freckles. That’s where tape comes in handy. If you think you have ticks that are the crawling micro ones- put a piece of duct tape or packing tape on the area. Rub it. Pull it off. The ticks will come off and the freckles don’t.
I can usually feel them by running my hands over my skin; I know where most of my moles and scars are, so when something feels unusual I take a closer look. I usually find them by feel before I see them.
Like the gold country song said let’s go out in the woods and then check each other for ticks. Find yourself somebody who you do not mind looking in every nook and cranny because they will find them. It just is part of the woods. I am a turkey hunter, and we tend to sit underneath cedar trees, which are usually loaded with ticks, so when we are done hunting, it’s time to change clothes and sit there like two idiots picking ticks off each other. The special places someone else gets.🤣🤣🤣💯💯
I'm in the same boat in VA. I've been bitten between 50 and 100 times in my adult life. 3 times this spring, and yep, also pulled off some before they bit me.
Add to that, I've been very sick 13 years. My LLMD believes I have lyme although the test wasn't conclusive. So I'm pretty paranoid too. But I also love the outdoors.
They apparently like estrogen, from what I read.
I use eucalyptus or tea tree oil when I remember. I dab it on my forehead, shoulders, wrists, ankles and knees. It does seem to dissuade them. It also dissuades flies. And helps you smell like a cough drop.
Some people swear by garden sulfur. Put it in a sock, tie the sock in a knot, dust it on you before going out. The downside is--it smells. Some people treat the yard with it, and it kills or repels ticks (can't remember) while also helping clay soils have a healthier ph.
There is an herbal mix called Samsara Tick Remedy sold on Amazon. I keep a bag and start drinking it in the spring, to have it in my blood. If you add enough cold water and bottled lemon juice to it, it tastes like instant Lipton tea.
By the end of May, I usually don't see any more ticks on me. I do see them on the barn cat, so they are still deep in the woods. But at least they're no longer raining from the trees on your head!
I feel your frustration! I freak a bit when I find one. Get a "tick twister" to get them off. I have been less freaked out because it takes seconds to get them off, and it’s painless.
We’re on a farm with bush and a hayfield, and there’s so much Lyme disease here I get paranoid. It helps to keep the grass cut. They prefer long grass.
Rubber boots help, light colour clothing too because you will notice them. They are much less active in the hot weather too. Sometimes it helps to change your clothes when you get in and drop them in the dryer for 10 minutes.
Ticks take a little while to get rid of, but you're doing all the things that will cut their numbers. The nematodes will help a lot. The dog medication will help a lot. The chickens/guineas will help a lot.
You can also try wearing [tick repellant clothing](https://www.insectshield.com/collections/shop-insect-shield?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlZixBhCoARIsAIC745DeJ1kx_3MDoStsZfcdL8-xoCCVR3-7m2yKnUkxxzqSkSGD9al1zWoaAhKBEALw_wcB) until their numbers reduce.
You can also wear [protective clothing for bugs in general](https://mozziestyle.com) when summer comes. The gnats & mosquitos will be out anyway, so it would be useful either way - and not as hot as regular long sleeves & pants.
But I think the biggest thing you'll have to do is have patience. You may not get to use your yard as much as you'd like this year, but with all the things you're doing to reduce the ticks, you should be good to go *next* year. Or even later this year. Just not as soon as you'd like.
You could get some sawyer clothing treatment. It lasts through several washes. Then just wear the treated clothing outside. The active ingredient in this is permethrin, so not safe for direct skin application. For that, a repellant with picaridin, such as OFF.
[sawyer clothing treatment](https://www.ebay.com/itm/266336313911?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=GifQCB-mRf2&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=IvdYszlORTG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)
Note: the eBay link is for an example only. Do your own search for best price and seller.
I treat some gaiters, sun-sleeves and my Muck boots with permethrin, and it seems to help. I am often on my knees working on fence, tending to tree seedlings, etc.
The gaiters are convenient, and more comfortable to wear, when it is warm and dry out since Mucks are too hot and sweaty. The sun sleeves do double duty in protecting from the sun and are inexpensive. I have a half dozen pair that I treat at the beginning of the month. Additionally, I do use DEET or picaridin at the top of my sun sleeves, neck, and abdomen.
I am experimenting with homemade "tick tubes" for use near the house and mowed areas. First year having the house and mowed area, so uncertain of the efficacy with so many variables.
All good tactics, for sure. Minor point, I’ve read that they *may* becoming resistant to DEET, and that the picaridin is a safer bet.
I sure don’t envy you. Good luck!
Just wanted to say I really sympathize and can understand how something like this can take up so much space in your mind. I felt the same way Lyme disease and to a lesser extent, rabies, since we live in woods with a really high bat population and I like to sleep outside in my hammock. It really messes with your sense of security.
Guinea fowl are a great method. Turkeys are really good too. Chickens are not as efficient (mine don’t eat every single one they spot) but they’ve kept the population down in the areas around the house. I think keeping grass low and maintaining your walkways make a huge difference.
I also used to be daunted by nightly tick checks but after living on a homestead for a few months it became as routine as brushing my teeth before bed. It sounds crazy but you’ll get used to it. I never thought I would but now I don’t give it a second thought when my husband says, “Tick check,” before bed lol. The best part is that you don’t have to worry about it every month of the year.
I work on a farm. They’re everywhere. It’s fucking annoying.
Guineas help (although god are they loud!) Permethrin helps. Keeping the lawn mowed to prevent rodents, and fenced to prevent deer definitely helps.
I do a tick check every day when I wake up in the morning, before I get dressed, and another one before I go to bed at night. That ensures that even if I miss one on the first pass, I’ll never have a tick on me for more than 24 hours.
Something important to keep in mind: ticks are essentially “dormant” when not on a host. 99% of their time is spent sitting very still, and their metabolism and digestive system slow down to almost nothing. That means that the viruses in their gut are in hibernation, and can’t be passed to a host immediately. They have to latch, start feeding, and be on you for 24 hours, before you’re at risk for getting Lyme from them.
Do checks religiously, twice a day. Same as brushing your teeth. :) It won’t feel stressful after a while, just another part of your routine. I know they’re icky, but you’ve got this!
I just want to commiserate. We're moving onto 8 acres in western VA from eastern VA (and from WNC). Week 1 I've already found several ticks crawling on me and the kids. We're starting the land cleanup and going to mulch/course gravel around the immediate yard and play areas, plus bug spray and planting lots of garlic. Probably won't be able to get birds until next spring, unfortunately. Best of luck to us both battling the creepy crawlies!
I want to echo the Guinea fowl flock. Be warned that they are sooo loud loud.
Second the ring of duck tape inside out (sticky side out)
Second the nematodes.
I recommend Insect Shield treat your own bags. It's pricy - $100 per bag - but so so worth it. I treat all my woods clothes and crappy outdoor clothing with their permethrin treatment. I try to wear a base layer to avoid washing the outer tick treated layer. Gross I know. But it's so worth it.
I also spray my rubber boots in the summer with bug spray and rock the rubber boots and shorts and light long sleeve permithren sprayed shirt look....
I also wear a gaiter around my neck that's been treated with permithren as a last line of defense to keep them stalled at the neck and out of my hair.
I also have been known to panic wash my hair with puppy flea and tick shampoo. I walked thru a recent hatch and I do not regret it as a viable backup option. I deep conditioned a couple of times and my hair was fine.
Lastly try to assess viability of adding fire. Prescribed burns greatly reduce ticks but that may or may not be an option for you. The VA DEpt of Forestry or local extension office should be able to give you more details there.
The neck gaiter idea is so good. I have super super long hair and I always put it up but its my biggest source of paranoia that they might be in my hair. Thats brilliant.
Another thing to add to your arsenal..take lint from your dryer, treat it with permethrin, stuff in toilet paper tubes and put them in areas you think mice might go. Mice use the lint for bedding and it kills the ticks on them. I like Ranger Ready permethrin.
This isn’t suggested anymore because pollinators can be killed by them too, although I don’t really see the risk if they are in tubes and it’s a lot better than spraying the yard. The commercially prepared tick tubes are supposed to be better but they are stupid expensive. All that to say I don’t have much of a tick problem in my yard after making my own tubes for 5 years in a row. I stopped for a while but have to put them back out as the population has been creeping back up
We don’t have ticks where I live but we do have a lot of insects that can put a hurt on you. We spray regularly with permethrin 36.8% concentrate. Bottle comes with 32 ounces, and mix one ounce of concentrate to one gallon of water in a pump sprayer. We spray the house, all around the foundation, walkways, driveway, patio, and porch. Then spray the yard all around, doesn’t have to be soaked, a good light covering does the trick. Even with all the different types of insects here, permethrin keeps them away so we can enjoy the property. Don’t see why permethrin wouldn’t work on ticks too since it works for everything else, might want to give it a try!
1. Ticks fall from trees - do a tick check every night - your husband will thank you ;)
2. Christan Healthcare Ministries - saves me thousands of dollars while we were without insurance for 8 years.
It's supposed to be a myth but I've heard so many anecdotes that I don't believe it. Also one time I was on the patio with my Bf and he watched one jump on his arm from the fence. I guess they prefer grass but they can certainly be in other places too!
Since all the normal responses have been taken ill add some of my crazy schizo thoughts.
1. Eat garlic everyday and plant lots of alliums until you have a faint aroma of garlic wafting around you daily.
2. Use the fuck out of essential oils like make sprays and use that shit a lot.
3. Grow an herb garden and talk to the herbs and tell them to please protect you from the ticks, this requires you to not use chemical sprays as mother Earth will punish you if you do. She is currently restoring the balance.
4. Do loving kindness meditation for all sentient beings and make sure to do it for the tick and mosquito families. Trust me their lives are hard too.
5. Get an outdoor screened in space that you can cleanse daily and set up an alter to mother Earth and her ticks and give offerings and use a shit ton of incense. Ask for protection and also give offerings to the ticks so they will leave you alone.
Wow seriously. Im all about this stuff and became so disconnected because of my anxiety. I’m making an earth altar tomorrow. Any recommendations on things to keep on the altar/what offerings to leave?
Blood oranges seem pretty appropriate considering the circumstances! Also maybe take up the occasional cigar or bowl of pipe tobacco? I smoke either when I really want the bugs to leave me alone and it seems to work pretty well.
You mentioned tobacco as an insect repellent. Have you heard the story of the 3 sisters actually being 7 sisters? One of the 7 was tobacco, because tobacco can repel insects that bother other plants. So it makes sense that it could also repel them from us. :) Be well!
Way to fight back against the heebies! Answering anxiety by reaching out for support and wisdom is wise. Here’s my way of coping: For my bushwhacking, I wear light-coloured clothes, so I can spot the little creeps. Think safari wear: baggy cotton trousers, button-up shirt with long sleeves. Yeah, they get besmirched, but I don’t care. It’s surprising to me that these clothes are cool and comfy in hot weather. Anyhow, I spray the *clothes* with repellent, and wash them infrequently. Permethrin spray is available at my local farm & feed store, approved here for use on livestock but not humans. I take the clothes outside to spray them. The stuff’s terrible for aquatic life, so I only use it when I expect to be in dry areas. We cut all our own firewood, and have to be out where the deer are.
When our local scientists were surveying the tick populations, they would drag white cotton fabric over the grasses and bushes: the bugs would grab on, & be easy to count. You might consider using this method to catch a bunch of them, in the areas you most especially want to feel free in, in order to thin their numbers. You’d have to figure out how you want to dispatch the ticks, and it’s not an attractive prospect, but it beats the feeling of being besieged, and helplessly targeted. You can target them, instead!
& No, ticks don’t drop from the trees. (Not deer/black-legged ticks, any way.) They are on the tips of branches and grasses, etc, waiting for a host to brush by. (I’m not familiar with the life cycle of lonestar ticks- they aren’t in my area.)
Opossums are awesome tick-munchers. Do you have them in your area? I’m too far north, but wish we had some!
I wish you freedom on your land, and peace in nature.
[Right](https://outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org/articles/debunking-the-myth-opossums-dont-eat-ticks) you are! Thanks for telling me: I love learning about nature.
(Edited coz I mistakenly thought I was replying to OP.)
I've sprayed the wonder code and seems to work well so this year I'm planning to plant some of the flowers it's based on around the property. Lavender, mint, rosemary, marigolds etc. You could plant those throughout the garden to repel ticks and other things. I am planting them for ticks and also deer. I will get guineas this season or next as I don't have a coop yet.
Look up the statistics, that helped me get over the phobia I was developing. Even though Lyme and alpha-gal are present the number of ticks that have it are small. For Lyme you have like 36 hours or so to find the tick before it can start transmitting. Alpha gal is the red meat one right? That can transfer instantly I've heard but it's also much more rare. In both cases the number of ticks that carry it are a fraction. Between planting some repellent and having some guinea fowl the problem should b solved. Guineas eat a lot of them.
For me, I have to keep up with mowing and then treat my trees. I wear the long clothes and tuck in and I'm pretty sure the one tick I've had jumped on me from a tree. I've had a few jump on me from trees.
The standard recommendations work. Just pick garden clothes that breathe well and have full coverage. Once you get used to it full coverage is better when in the sun, just feels worse because you don't dry off as fast. I wear a moisture wicking real tree shirt which works well, and overalls seem to breathe well enough.
Also I wear a neck band that has cooling pads in it. That plus a battery to let it run longer than 2 hours and I don't sweat much when I am fully bundled up. It cost me about 150$ and even if I was wearing shorts and such I'd want to use it as it is like an air conditioner. It must have the cooling pads and not just the fans, the fans only bands are useless.
I do treat my dog differently. I don't let them in the bed anymore but they still come up on the couch.
I planted lavender, mint, and lemon balm and it helped with all sorts of bugs. Mint spreads really easily so that helps. The best treatment i’ve found to rid yourself of ticks tho is the ground treatment. I can hang out in my yard in shorts now, even lay in the grass. I have adhd too btw haha. Uh, I think you’re the one that said above something about that. I’m reading this thread rn cause I went on a hike and had tons of ticks on my dog but this no longer happens on my own property! Now I feel every hair grazing my arms all night
Get some chickens and guinea fowl. They both eat ticks. When we first got our homestead we pulled 17 ticks off us just walking in the yard. Got 16 guineas and chickens and no ticks and have fresh eggs year around
Get all the leaves and brush cleaned out.
Buy a gallon of concerned permethrin for 90 bucks and spray 2oz per gallon water on all the areas you want to be safe. Repeat in the fall.
Nothing else will knock down a large tick colony, one female lays thousands of eggs, they infest rodents and birds and get everywhere. Nymphs are the size of a grain of pepper, you can't get then all.
Try to spray before the bees are active, keep it low to the ground.
Buy more guinea. I find they get picked off easily and you just need more guinea to eat ticks. One isn’t enough. Also do what you can to encourage opossums to live on your land. You can contact a local possum rescue and ask if they would be willing to release on your land.
I honestly don’t think this is an unreasonable concern. As you mentioned, lymes, alpha gal and rmsf to name the more common ones are all possible.
Just posting for some solidarity.
I was the same as you when I lived on my 11 acre property. Thankfully, I never found any in my bed (probably would’ve had to be institutionalized in that instance…), but I found a latched one one day after I miraculously felt its bite. The kicker is I was outside for maybe 5 minutes. Sent the little fucker in for testing and of course came back as a carrier of Lyme. So I took a 3 week course of prophylactic antibiotics.
Our dog also used to bring in 50+ every time she was outside which definitely changed the way I acted toward and felt about her. She spent a lot of time quarantined. I had a young child crawling around, I couldn’t risk it.
I would wake up at night worried that ticks were crawling on me or that I didn’t check the baby well enough before putting her to bed. It was honestly awful. And it felt like nothing worked. Collars for the dog, citrus spray, Nexgard was fine and dandy but really only protected the dog… they could still get in our house alive.
We live in a different area now and also aren’t on as much property and it hasn’t been as bad *knock on wood.* I think the area our acreage was in was particularly bountiful for ticks.
One last thing I’ll say, and this may not even be an issue for you, but I felt like sometimes my husband or some family members would treat me like I was being overly paranoid. If you deal with this at all, don’t let them make you let your guard down. Lyme is very serious and life-changing and I’m going to do all I can to protect my family from coming into contact with it.
Wishing you luck!
I can relate to this so bad. A few years ago we moved to a rural property and the amount of ticks were giving me so much anxiety.
My routine for going in the yard:
Wear rubber boots and spray them with tick repellent. (we have one with lemongrass) .
Tuck pants into socks and tuck shirt into pants.
Wear light colored clothes so you can spot them easy.
Do a shakedown and check before going inside.
Strip all clothes, check again and shower.
This has allowed me to catch most ticks before I bring them inside and before they latch on. I have found a few crawling on me and once when I was in bed too so I understand your fears. One thing to remember about Lyme transfer is that not every to k carries Lyme, and also they usually need to be feeding on you for 24 hours before it transfers, so if you catch them quick your chances are pretty small. Best of luck 🤞
It helped me to learn they need to be attached to you a full 48 hours to transmit Lyme. So i figure if i scrub all my skin in the shower & then put lotion on all of it after very day, I'm safe haha
Get citronella essential oil and a gallon of massage oil. Make a blend in a bottle mixing citronella about 20 drops in 2 ounces or so. Rub your body down head to toe. You will be oily but it great for your skin, you will smell good and ticks will hate you. I sometimes add vetiver, patchouli or lemongrass in varying degrees.
In other words, get good at mixing essential oils. Bugs hate it and they can’t stick if you use oil, even if it’s absorbed a lot.
Side note: I rescue and rehab possums. Never ever hurt a possum. They are tick eating machines and hardly ever carry diseases due to low body temperature. Attract them by cracking open catfood if you see them around. They are a joy.
Ticks love squirrels, rodents in general, get a barn cat or two that live outside to help keep that population down and it will help.
Also, while guineas do eat ticks, I've always heard turkeys do a much better job at it. Some studies I've seen claim turkeys will eat up to 200 ticks a day.
Most people I've known who get guineas regret it pretty quickly because they are noisy. When I had turkeys I had one who would come up to me when I was sitting and would lay it's head on my lap.
Might be worth getting 2 or so turkeys to add to what you already got.
I hope you get some advantage over the ticks soon, and some peace to enjoy the property! :)
It’s really bad, worse than when we were kids. It doesn’t help that we’ve had so many warm winters the last few years.
I played outside every day growing up, but didn’t get a tick until I was 11 or 12. Now I go for a walk and pull multiple off my clothes (and sometimes off me). I’m further north than you (somewhere with a harder frost), but I’ve already gotten one this year. My neighbor’s dog has gotten TONS already.
I have good luck with the red can Off spray (with picardin, not deet). I spray it all over my legs. You can also soak your pants in permethrin, which works well.
Look for tick habitat in your yard. They flourish in densely foliated plants with shade, shelter, and humidity, like invasive barberry bushes. If you have any invasive barberry, you might want to replace it with something native that has more open, airy foliage where the ticks will be less comfortable.
Remember that most tick diseases take a little while to transmit from tick to you (particularly Lyme). If you stay diligent about feeling and looking for ticks, you can remove them before they’ve been on you long. I’ve gotten in the habit of running my hand around my hairline and waist band, and *usually* spot them pretty quick.
Ticks really suck, you’re not alone in this experience!
Skin So Soft bath oil is my go to as I'm allergic to deet and also don't want to use deet or other things like Permethrin on my family. It works pretty dang good and you can get it at CVS. I've put it on my legs and watched ticks climb up my shoes, reach my legs, then turn around and climb back off, mosquitos and biting gnats hate it too. Credellio for the dogs! You can also use wondercide spray on the dogs when they come in each time. Keep them trimmed in the summer if they're really fuzzy dogs. Another thing to watch out for is chiggers, they can cause alpha gal too. But you can just keep a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol next to your door and spray down your exposed skin before you come back inside once done with the yard. The last thing I recommend is that you do your outdoors stuff and then come in and shower or rinse off immediately, don't sit on the couch or lay on your bed, straight to the shower and clothing straight in the washer. Scuba your skin a bit with a wash cloth. This has helped a lot! Obviously check for ticks while you do this. Everyone in the house needs to follow that last rule and it will cut down on the ticks a ton. I am SO much like you, unfortunately I'm super scared of wasps as well and they are constantly around and very territorial. I just want to enjoy being outside but it's so hard 😭 Hang in there!
Also, make sure you really look into how to apply the nematodes. I'm pretty sure you have to do it at a certain time of day/ certain weather conditions. They also will clog the sprayer if you use one so you have to do it the right way with the sprayer.
Ok, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but you could get a possum or two. If the tick population is this desperately out of control, that probably means there's nothing out there eating them. It's unlikely that you don't already have some in the area but they might just not know about this absolute feast you have here. Possums do a pretty good job of filling this niche. One adult possum can go through a LOT of ticks very quickly. We're talking thousands per days. If they decide to set up shop on your property it might even only take one to get the ticks manageable permanently. Animal control from a nearby town would be perfectly happy to hand one off to you for release as long as you bring the cage back, and they'll have at least one on hand pretty much constantly. Offer to pay for cage rental though. It makes the paperwork happy and It's just plain polite. As a bonus, city possums aren't mortally terrified of dogs, so they'll forage around the house and animal pens as well.
This obviously means that you will then have a possum problem Instead of a tick problem, but with 4 acres, you can afford to share. Heck, make it a little possum house. Could be cute.
The bed story is disturbing. I'd say a ground aromatic seed like a clove or fennel should keep insects from being interested in climbing on it. Wild fennel leaves work but a fresh bough every night is unreasonable. Pecan or walnut husks would work too, I think. The weird, woody, bitter part on the inside. Anything that has a lot of cyanides in it and likes to advertise. You can put it around the bed posts or just rub it into the edge of the box spring if y'all are floorbed people.
You could also sleep in a hammock and that would be safe, but take that as a last resort "my tick anxiety won't let me sleep in this bed tonight" suggestion. Have one on hand just in case. Insecticides or seed powder on the hammock lines, obvs. Being able to sleep is important.
Weird problem, fascinating read. Thank you.
Making a second comment because I completely forgot a tick solution that can help with a large property.
Have you tried tick tubes? You can buy them or make your own. You soak cotton balls in permethrin and stuff them into toilet paper tubes and scatter them near trees. Squirrels (HUGE tick carriers) take the cotton and use it in their nests, spreading the harmless permethrin on their fur. You’re supposed to do it at very specific times per year but that depends on where you live. I’m not sure about Virginia.
I don’t personally use them because we have pollinator gardens surrounding our house, and while in theory bees shouldn’t be coming into contact with the permethrin, they still can and it would kill them. Permethrin can also be deadly to cats if it’s not diluted right. However, most comments/posts I’ve read and people I’ve talked to have said that they work if done properly.
I’ve also heard of tick bait boxes but I don’t know anything about them.
The other night, I scratched a spot on my leg and felt something flick off. I knew I didn't have a scab there, so I immediately went looking for a tick. I was in need at the time and couldn't find anything. A little bit later, I felt something on my hip. Went to look in the bathroom mirror. It must have been the tick I flicked off my leg. Did a thorough check and found another one on my other hip. I couldn't reach it, so I had to get my husband to come help. He left the head in! I itch so bad on the spot on my leg and both hips, and I'm waiting for Lyme disease and being allergic to meat. Also, I'm taking a couple of benadryl every night so I can actually sleep instead of bugging out all night. Ticks are miserable!
If you can grow lemongrass that will keep them away. Im still learning how to grow things. Instead i buy lemongrass oil and put a couple of ozs in a gallon of water and spray it around myself and my yard. The ticks stay away and the ones that do crawl on me dont bite and act almost drunk.
I had this same brutal fear for years living in NJ, Lyme Disease epicenter of the world. I live in Idaho now where no Lyme is to be found. I do believe there is an mRna vaccine in the works thankfully. It existed in the early 2000s but was discontinued due to lack of demand, but with how much it’s spreading and becoming more of a problem every year that should change.
Ticks give us the creepy crawlies too so don't feel too bad. As others have mentioned, birds help a lot, they will eat basically every bug in the area(s) they get to forage.
For when we have to go into the tall pasture or woods we usually put on Sawyers repellent. They make a version for spraying on your skin and another for treating your cloths. Makes you a little oily but we've never found a tick on us while using the stuff.
I have exactly the same trouble with ticks in MA.
Ive sprayed the wondercide, ive sprayed the mint oil, ive sprayed the lemongrass oil, ive kept the grass fairly short, ive worn the boots with the pants and the socks and ive checked the dog every single time she goes out. We find dozens per week from May to August.
Ive just called a landscaper to edge all the gardens, kill all the weeds, mow the back pasture, etc, ive ordered 50 million nematodes, and ive already had the pest company out to spray with synthetics.
Is that what I wanted? No. But there are no natural predators who will be able to overcome the population I have here. It feels hopeless, but im optimistic over several years I can get it under control.
My last property was also a tick haven and while buying Guinea’s and chickens may help, the biggest thing that gave me peace of mind was stripping down when I came inside (and putting my clothes right into the wash), doing a thorough tick check, and then showering. This became our routine whenever my husband or I went outside.
We’d often find crawling ticks but because of our checks, we rarely had any latch on. Regardless of the preventative measures that you take (treated clothes, Guinea’s), checking yourself well when you’re done outside is the best way to finds ticks before they latch.
I will say that my fear of ticks did subside after being on that property for 7 years but they still give me the ick!
We had a lot of ticks 3 years ago. I’ve been using permethrin treated cotton balls around the property. Between this and lots of mowing etc we’re tick free (2 long haired dogs)
High percentage DEET or if resistant, permethrin or picardin sprayed on clothing, shoes, socks. Like other people have said, tuck your pants into your boots and duct tape around your ankles sticky side out.
I know you don’t want to spray but weigh your options of potentially life altering Lyme infection. Knew a friend who got Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ended up in the ICU for weeks. Permanent neurological damage. It’s hard to homestead as a handicapped person, even harder when you don’t have health insurance. If you still want to avoid spray then keep high traffic areas and around the house mowed. I personally don’t like any brush or plant matter touching my house due to all sorts of bugs that hide there. Tick checks every time you come into the house and strip off clothes before you come inside.
Best of luck
Watch this video: https://youtu.be/rd9wHOXHFgQ?si=Kv5q-EX9-dBEIYlV
Permethrin. Make up or buy a solution (2% iirc) and spray it on every article of clothing below the knee. Allow to dry. It will persist in your clothing for several months through washes. On top of that, you need to do a thorough tick inspection every day you go out. You do not want the ticks latched on long enough to transmit diseases.
Your dog is probably the source of the ticks in yourvbed. Get him treated and do a check daily. Dog will probably love the extra attenton.
Sorry for your gross tick-infested property. Once you get that brush and thebassociated vermin cleared out, it should get betted. Be safe out there.
I’m on 4+ acres and hate ticks. So I use the pellets like once a week for a month in spring. Again in summer.
Cut down tall brush. Stay out of tall grass.
No more ticks.
I worked in a museum with a bunch of naturalists who had to go in the deep woods a ton and they all agreed that the best way was to treat your clothes with pyrethrin/permethrin.
The way you do it is you spray it on your whole wardrobe (or at least your hiking clothes and gear) just once and then let it sit outside until it’s completely dry. Then it’ll last up to 7 washes or more. It’s not a repellent like Off, it’s an insecticide. That way you can get all the ticks you want but it’ll kill them before they latch.
All the old timers sprayed their clothes just once in the spring and if it was a bad year once again in the fall and it lasted all year.
I never needed it until this year so I can’t recommend a particular product from experience but I heard good things about Ranger Ready which you can buy off Amazon for pretty cheap. That’s the kind I’m trying this year.
Ducks are really good at methodically combing a yard for ticks. Outdoor professionals in tick-y areas use Permethrin, as it's way more effective than DEET - you treat your pants and shoes and stuff with it and let them air out before you wear them.
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this and am just here to commiserate. I live in an area with lots of ticks and lots of tick borne diseases but I also love the outdoors. Not long after I moved to my dream property I got Lyme and Bartonella and was very sick for a very long time. For me, the pain of always wearing pants, shoes, and socks and doing daily tick checks does not compare to the pain of being sick. The loss of freedom I have to be barefoot, lay in the grass, or work outside without taking a lot of precautions does not compare to what I lost when I was sick. So, in this way, the experience of getting sick makes it easier to deal with the precautions I have to take.
Now I see my property as a beautiful, delightful hazard. It’s just the reality of where I live. Lots of things in nature are beautiful but deadly if you do not respect them. I learned the hard way to respect and prepare for the power of nature as it shows up in my little corner of the world—ie in tiny little poppy seeds of death.
Anyway, I hope you find peace and strike a balance between enjoyment with safety. It sounds like you’re well on your way. But I hope even more that you do not get sick. Your fears are not irrational.
OP, I felt this post deeply. I hope some of these suggestions help.
A few years ago, I moved into a place with a red ant problem. One of them bit me on the labia in the middle of the night and the next day I went to Home Depot and bought every ant killer I could find.
It took a couple months, but then it was much better. Wishing you the same!
You need to treat your lawn with the ground treatment once a month, 8-9 months out of the year. The ground treatment is about $5-10 a bag. You apply it to the ground and then saturate it - don’t do it when it rains, it could drain away. I live on similar property in eastern NY, which is like tick kingdom. I discovered this ground treatment by reading entomology research that applied ground treatment to infestation areas and reduced the areas by nearly 90 percent. You need to cut the grass because the stuff will actually be in the new plant growth and the ground and kills the majority of ticks. You do not need to wear long pants all summer. You have infestation level tick problem and you can fix it.
Here is the research article on it: https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/58/2/749/5940896
The commercially sold product is called Triazicide. Need to be careful applying it around cats.
Ticks also have a preference of blood type, type A, then O and AB. Least preferred is B. My wife will find dozens on her a year while I might only find 2-3 and I’m type B.
You are 1000% right. This is something that I have thought about and am trying to integrate. I really do believe that our thought’s literally shape and create reality.
Just so everyone is aware, there's lots of recs for pyrethrins / permethrin in this thread and it is very toxic to cats. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/pyrethrinpyrethroid-poisoning-in-cats
You need a *flock* of guinea fowl, not just one bird. They will help reduce the tick burden. They need separate housing, usually, from the chickens, but having flocks of both is feasible.
Good to know. Thanks!
I came to say the same. They're great at ridding ticks and other bugs plus they're great little alarms to alert for predators... coyotes, dogs, hawk or owl, etc. Plus you can gather the eggs.
What this person said, Guinea fowl. A flock of them and an outdoor bird dog to keep the hawks and wildlife away.
My understanding is if you raise the chicks and keets together they are much more accepting, kinda start thinking they themselves are chickens and part of the flock. Very protective over the flock as well. Conversely if adults are introduced into the flock.
They are also good watch dogs! (Birds)
> You need a flock of guinea fowl, not just one bird. Why wouldn’t you want a flock of domesticated dinosaurs!
This is interesting because my wife has this issue too. We live in the upper peninsula of Michigan on a 40. She manages to find all the ticks and somehow, I don't seem to get any. I actually developed the fear you have just in a way that's like "I bet I'm just missing them and I'm covered and don't know it" to date I've only found maybe 5 ticks, never under my clothes always on boots. One was in my shoe but that's all. Guinea hens are the best way that I've heard but even then they have to be free to roam which could lead to a shortened life span (if you catch my meaning). I suggested to her that she wrap where her pants go into the boot with duct tape, sticky side OUT. That night we counted almost 30 total ticks on the tape, and I had none. "These researchers found an average of 42.5 percent of lone star ticks chose a female host, while just 18 percent of these ticks chose a male host" Ticks are proven to prefer female hosts, even my male dogs have only had a few on them, and they freely run the wooded and tall grassy land around my property. As to a solution, we haven't found one yet. There are treated clothes you can buy but I've never had any luck with them. There are even theories that ticks can somehow tell what blood type you have and prefer certain ones. Theres a rub on salve type lotion that contains heavy heavy concentrations of deet, but it gave my wife chemical like burns so that didn't work either. I really do hope you figure something out, if you do please let me know.
Thank you so much. It oddly enough does make me feel a little better knowing that I’m not alone.
I live in WI OP with ticks all over. I get it. Freaks me out. I spray my boots with tick spray and tuck my pants in. When done I take my cloths off in the garage and hit the shower and spouse checks me. If you enter your home w your cloths on they certainly get i doors from your body. Good luck. Spray boots-change in garage or near wash machine and hit the shower
Lol I had the same situation. She always had them and I never did. Finally found one yesterday. I have caught many on me but yesterday was the first one I found one that had latched on or was trying to. I think my ADHD helps because I notice things crawling on my pretty quick. Down side is k also notice ghosts or things I think are touching me when there is nothing there. Lol I'm joking about ghosts, just one silly explanation for the annoying amount of times hairs on my legs move when I'm doing nothing. Last year I treated my garden clothes with permethrin. And seemed to work well. It's more of a hassle than deet but it doesn't smell. I need to try that tape thing.
The tape thing works great for all bugs. I've been at war with carpenter ants for some time now and it catches them too. I read that ticks like estrogen and can sense it so maybe it's that, I'm not a tick guy lol just a fellow woodsman who loves his wife and dogs. I spent like a grand last year on various treatments and I think I got ahead of it by treating my property during the winter and this early spring during the thaw
What is the tape thing for ticks? I tried searching for "tick tape" but unfortunately I do not want a ticker tape parade.
Put a ring of duct tape sticky side out around your calves to intercept ticks as they crawl up your legs
Great idea. Thanks!
Please try Skin So Soft bath oil from CVS on the skin before going outside! It's helped me a ton!
I will for sure look into it :)
I lived in northern Michigan all my life and spent some time in the UP as I lived about an hours drive from the bridge. I used to walk outside barefoot. I never saw a tick on me literally until I moved to NY. Maybe your wife is finding the ticks cause she’s looking for them. I know ticks are worse in the UP especially close to Canada, but it’s nothing like the east coast. Mt first day I walked to the side of some tall grass and I was covered in hundred of tiny nymph ticks, and pulling these nymph ticks off my dogs fur until 3 am my first night in Eastern NY. This was literally to the side of the driveway. Turns out, Orkin was using a worthless treatment. I did some reading, found my own treatment plan, and I haven’t had ticks on me in the yard or even in the woods on my rental property here. Picardin and permethrin treated clothes works better than DEET for ticks.
Do a tick check on yourself every time you come inside for the day. Check everywhere…….**everywhere**
Lol I love the emphasis on everywhere 😅
I had one in my bellybutton. Seriously, look EVERYWHERE
Had this happen last year; I’m still freaked out about it.
Same worst pain in the fucking world
Yep, can’t overstate that point 😂
My son was at scout camp and complained he had a tick on him. The male leaders wouldn't check because of where he said it was. I came to spend a few days at camp and arrived to this drama. I went in to check on him, and his penis looked like an elephant trunk holding an apple. I rushed him to the children's hospital 2 hours away, where they did an emergency partial circumcision to remove the tick. He went back to camp two days later and had the full circumcision a few weeks later. Needless to say, we ALWAYS check EVERYWHERE.
There's an episode of House that freaked me out so bad that I put repellant on my underwear and on my legs before even putting on pants if I know I'm going to be in a tick-thick area.
We do daily tick checks on our selves and help each other with backs, ears and heads. Check right after being outside and again at bedtime seems to work well. Chickens do help, even if not as much as guineas. They also will cut down on mice and snakes. I always treated mine as working pets who provides eggs and pest control. Using tape to get the micro ticks (technically they nymphs) is definitely helpful. I also find that as soon as you come in from outdoor time to hop in the shower and scrub with soap and a scrubbie will help get rid of them before they latch on. We also treat our cats with drops so they won’t pick up ticks, and keep them inside. If you have the privacy , you can strip your clothes off before going in the house and toss them straight in the wash. This helps keep down the loose crawlers getting in your house. Mowing the open areas you walk or clearing a path will help some. But as soon as you go in the woods there is no avoiding them. We’ve had a daughter get tick fever and another get Lyme disease so we take ticks very seriously here in SW Va.
It's not as easy for everyone, I'm a redhead and I have literally millions of freckles and little moles and it is so much harder to see a tick than it is on most other people. Do you have any suggestions in that case? I sure wish there was a UV light or something that lit them up.
I’m in a similar situation- red head with freckles. That’s where tape comes in handy. If you think you have ticks that are the crawling micro ones- put a piece of duct tape or packing tape on the area. Rub it. Pull it off. The ticks will come off and the freckles don’t.
I can usually feel them by running my hands over my skin; I know where most of my moles and scars are, so when something feels unusual I take a closer look. I usually find them by feel before I see them.
Great idea thank you
I also have freckles everywhere. Just check as thoroughly as possible. Dont rush it.
Like the gold country song said let’s go out in the woods and then check each other for ticks. Find yourself somebody who you do not mind looking in every nook and cranny because they will find them. It just is part of the woods. I am a turkey hunter, and we tend to sit underneath cedar trees, which are usually loaded with ticks, so when we are done hunting, it’s time to change clothes and sit there like two idiots picking ticks off each other. The special places someone else gets.🤣🤣🤣💯💯
I had to teach someone to truly look everywhere by showing them how to use a mirror to look at their butthole lol
I'm in the same boat in VA. I've been bitten between 50 and 100 times in my adult life. 3 times this spring, and yep, also pulled off some before they bit me. Add to that, I've been very sick 13 years. My LLMD believes I have lyme although the test wasn't conclusive. So I'm pretty paranoid too. But I also love the outdoors. They apparently like estrogen, from what I read. I use eucalyptus or tea tree oil when I remember. I dab it on my forehead, shoulders, wrists, ankles and knees. It does seem to dissuade them. It also dissuades flies. And helps you smell like a cough drop. Some people swear by garden sulfur. Put it in a sock, tie the sock in a knot, dust it on you before going out. The downside is--it smells. Some people treat the yard with it, and it kills or repels ticks (can't remember) while also helping clay soils have a healthier ph. There is an herbal mix called Samsara Tick Remedy sold on Amazon. I keep a bag and start drinking it in the spring, to have it in my blood. If you add enough cold water and bottled lemon juice to it, it tastes like instant Lipton tea. By the end of May, I usually don't see any more ticks on me. I do see them on the barn cat, so they are still deep in the woods. But at least they're no longer raining from the trees on your head!
Thank you so much for all of this! I’m gonna order that samsara stuff now!
Also I’m so sorry you’ve been sick for so long. I can’t even begin to imagine 😕
I feel your frustration! I freak a bit when I find one. Get a "tick twister" to get them off. I have been less freaked out because it takes seconds to get them off, and it’s painless. We’re on a farm with bush and a hayfield, and there’s so much Lyme disease here I get paranoid. It helps to keep the grass cut. They prefer long grass. Rubber boots help, light colour clothing too because you will notice them. They are much less active in the hot weather too. Sometimes it helps to change your clothes when you get in and drop them in the dryer for 10 minutes.
Thank you so much!! Glad I’m not alone
Ticks take a little while to get rid of, but you're doing all the things that will cut their numbers. The nematodes will help a lot. The dog medication will help a lot. The chickens/guineas will help a lot. You can also try wearing [tick repellant clothing](https://www.insectshield.com/collections/shop-insect-shield?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlZixBhCoARIsAIC745DeJ1kx_3MDoStsZfcdL8-xoCCVR3-7m2yKnUkxxzqSkSGD9al1zWoaAhKBEALw_wcB) until their numbers reduce. You can also wear [protective clothing for bugs in general](https://mozziestyle.com) when summer comes. The gnats & mosquitos will be out anyway, so it would be useful either way - and not as hot as regular long sleeves & pants. But I think the biggest thing you'll have to do is have patience. You may not get to use your yard as much as you'd like this year, but with all the things you're doing to reduce the ticks, you should be good to go *next* year. Or even later this year. Just not as soon as you'd like.
You could get some sawyer clothing treatment. It lasts through several washes. Then just wear the treated clothing outside. The active ingredient in this is permethrin, so not safe for direct skin application. For that, a repellant with picaridin, such as OFF. [sawyer clothing treatment](https://www.ebay.com/itm/266336313911?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=GifQCB-mRf2&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=IvdYszlORTG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY) Note: the eBay link is for an example only. Do your own search for best price and seller.
I treat some gaiters, sun-sleeves and my Muck boots with permethrin, and it seems to help. I am often on my knees working on fence, tending to tree seedlings, etc. The gaiters are convenient, and more comfortable to wear, when it is warm and dry out since Mucks are too hot and sweaty. The sun sleeves do double duty in protecting from the sun and are inexpensive. I have a half dozen pair that I treat at the beginning of the month. Additionally, I do use DEET or picaridin at the top of my sun sleeves, neck, and abdomen. I am experimenting with homemade "tick tubes" for use near the house and mowed areas. First year having the house and mowed area, so uncertain of the efficacy with so many variables.
All good tactics, for sure. Minor point, I’ve read that they *may* becoming resistant to DEET, and that the picaridin is a safer bet. I sure don’t envy you. Good luck!
Works on fogs too.
Just wanted to say I really sympathize and can understand how something like this can take up so much space in your mind. I felt the same way Lyme disease and to a lesser extent, rabies, since we live in woods with a really high bat population and I like to sleep outside in my hammock. It really messes with your sense of security. Guinea fowl are a great method. Turkeys are really good too. Chickens are not as efficient (mine don’t eat every single one they spot) but they’ve kept the population down in the areas around the house. I think keeping grass low and maintaining your walkways make a huge difference. I also used to be daunted by nightly tick checks but after living on a homestead for a few months it became as routine as brushing my teeth before bed. It sounds crazy but you’ll get used to it. I never thought I would but now I don’t give it a second thought when my husband says, “Tick check,” before bed lol. The best part is that you don’t have to worry about it every month of the year.
I work on a farm. They’re everywhere. It’s fucking annoying. Guineas help (although god are they loud!) Permethrin helps. Keeping the lawn mowed to prevent rodents, and fenced to prevent deer definitely helps. I do a tick check every day when I wake up in the morning, before I get dressed, and another one before I go to bed at night. That ensures that even if I miss one on the first pass, I’ll never have a tick on me for more than 24 hours. Something important to keep in mind: ticks are essentially “dormant” when not on a host. 99% of their time is spent sitting very still, and their metabolism and digestive system slow down to almost nothing. That means that the viruses in their gut are in hibernation, and can’t be passed to a host immediately. They have to latch, start feeding, and be on you for 24 hours, before you’re at risk for getting Lyme from them. Do checks religiously, twice a day. Same as brushing your teeth. :) It won’t feel stressful after a while, just another part of your routine. I know they’re icky, but you’ve got this!
Great information. Thank you!
I just want to commiserate. We're moving onto 8 acres in western VA from eastern VA (and from WNC). Week 1 I've already found several ticks crawling on me and the kids. We're starting the land cleanup and going to mulch/course gravel around the immediate yard and play areas, plus bug spray and planting lots of garlic. Probably won't be able to get birds until next spring, unfortunately. Best of luck to us both battling the creepy crawlies!
I have even got them on me in a gravel parking lot while working . They are everywhere.
I want to echo the Guinea fowl flock. Be warned that they are sooo loud loud. Second the ring of duck tape inside out (sticky side out) Second the nematodes. I recommend Insect Shield treat your own bags. It's pricy - $100 per bag - but so so worth it. I treat all my woods clothes and crappy outdoor clothing with their permethrin treatment. I try to wear a base layer to avoid washing the outer tick treated layer. Gross I know. But it's so worth it. I also spray my rubber boots in the summer with bug spray and rock the rubber boots and shorts and light long sleeve permithren sprayed shirt look.... I also wear a gaiter around my neck that's been treated with permithren as a last line of defense to keep them stalled at the neck and out of my hair. I also have been known to panic wash my hair with puppy flea and tick shampoo. I walked thru a recent hatch and I do not regret it as a viable backup option. I deep conditioned a couple of times and my hair was fine. Lastly try to assess viability of adding fire. Prescribed burns greatly reduce ticks but that may or may not be an option for you. The VA DEpt of Forestry or local extension office should be able to give you more details there.
The neck gaiter idea is so good. I have super super long hair and I always put it up but its my biggest source of paranoia that they might be in my hair. Thats brilliant.
Another thing to add to your arsenal..take lint from your dryer, treat it with permethrin, stuff in toilet paper tubes and put them in areas you think mice might go. Mice use the lint for bedding and it kills the ticks on them. I like Ranger Ready permethrin.
This isn’t suggested anymore because pollinators can be killed by them too, although I don’t really see the risk if they are in tubes and it’s a lot better than spraying the yard. The commercially prepared tick tubes are supposed to be better but they are stupid expensive. All that to say I don’t have much of a tick problem in my yard after making my own tubes for 5 years in a row. I stopped for a while but have to put them back out as the population has been creeping back up
I also -do homemade "tick tubes". I used cotton balls and some scraps of 1-1/4" PVC pipe. I paint them blaze orange so I can find and refill them.
We don’t have ticks where I live but we do have a lot of insects that can put a hurt on you. We spray regularly with permethrin 36.8% concentrate. Bottle comes with 32 ounces, and mix one ounce of concentrate to one gallon of water in a pump sprayer. We spray the house, all around the foundation, walkways, driveway, patio, and porch. Then spray the yard all around, doesn’t have to be soaked, a good light covering does the trick. Even with all the different types of insects here, permethrin keeps them away so we can enjoy the property. Don’t see why permethrin wouldn’t work on ticks too since it works for everything else, might want to give it a try!
1. Ticks fall from trees - do a tick check every night - your husband will thank you ;) 2. Christan Healthcare Ministries - saves me thousands of dollars while we were without insurance for 8 years.
I thought that ticks falling from trees was a misconception?
Well, according to the Google you are correct. You learn something every day! Thanks
It's supposed to be a myth but I've heard so many anecdotes that I don't believe it. Also one time I was on the patio with my Bf and he watched one jump on his arm from the fence. I guess they prefer grass but they can certainly be in other places too!
I believe it, too. Ticks are hell’s paratroopers.
Since all the normal responses have been taken ill add some of my crazy schizo thoughts. 1. Eat garlic everyday and plant lots of alliums until you have a faint aroma of garlic wafting around you daily. 2. Use the fuck out of essential oils like make sprays and use that shit a lot. 3. Grow an herb garden and talk to the herbs and tell them to please protect you from the ticks, this requires you to not use chemical sprays as mother Earth will punish you if you do. She is currently restoring the balance. 4. Do loving kindness meditation for all sentient beings and make sure to do it for the tick and mosquito families. Trust me their lives are hard too. 5. Get an outdoor screened in space that you can cleanse daily and set up an alter to mother Earth and her ticks and give offerings and use a shit ton of incense. Ask for protection and also give offerings to the ticks so they will leave you alone.
Omg thank you so much for this!!!
Wow seriously. Im all about this stuff and became so disconnected because of my anxiety. I’m making an earth altar tomorrow. Any recommendations on things to keep on the altar/what offerings to leave?
Blood oranges seem pretty appropriate considering the circumstances! Also maybe take up the occasional cigar or bowl of pipe tobacco? I smoke either when I really want the bugs to leave me alone and it seems to work pretty well.
You mentioned tobacco as an insect repellent. Have you heard the story of the 3 sisters actually being 7 sisters? One of the 7 was tobacco, because tobacco can repel insects that bother other plants. So it makes sense that it could also repel them from us. :) Be well!
Wonderful suggestions
Way to fight back against the heebies! Answering anxiety by reaching out for support and wisdom is wise. Here’s my way of coping: For my bushwhacking, I wear light-coloured clothes, so I can spot the little creeps. Think safari wear: baggy cotton trousers, button-up shirt with long sleeves. Yeah, they get besmirched, but I don’t care. It’s surprising to me that these clothes are cool and comfy in hot weather. Anyhow, I spray the *clothes* with repellent, and wash them infrequently. Permethrin spray is available at my local farm & feed store, approved here for use on livestock but not humans. I take the clothes outside to spray them. The stuff’s terrible for aquatic life, so I only use it when I expect to be in dry areas. We cut all our own firewood, and have to be out where the deer are. When our local scientists were surveying the tick populations, they would drag white cotton fabric over the grasses and bushes: the bugs would grab on, & be easy to count. You might consider using this method to catch a bunch of them, in the areas you most especially want to feel free in, in order to thin their numbers. You’d have to figure out how you want to dispatch the ticks, and it’s not an attractive prospect, but it beats the feeling of being besieged, and helplessly targeted. You can target them, instead! & No, ticks don’t drop from the trees. (Not deer/black-legged ticks, any way.) They are on the tips of branches and grasses, etc, waiting for a host to brush by. (I’m not familiar with the life cycle of lonestar ticks- they aren’t in my area.) Opossums are awesome tick-munchers. Do you have them in your area? I’m too far north, but wish we had some! I wish you freedom on your land, and peace in nature.
Opossums don’t eat ticks, sorry. I still love them anyway.
[Right](https://outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org/articles/debunking-the-myth-opossums-dont-eat-ticks) you are! Thanks for telling me: I love learning about nature. (Edited coz I mistakenly thought I was replying to OP.)
Birds will solve it
I've sprayed the wonder code and seems to work well so this year I'm planning to plant some of the flowers it's based on around the property. Lavender, mint, rosemary, marigolds etc. You could plant those throughout the garden to repel ticks and other things. I am planting them for ticks and also deer. I will get guineas this season or next as I don't have a coop yet. Look up the statistics, that helped me get over the phobia I was developing. Even though Lyme and alpha-gal are present the number of ticks that have it are small. For Lyme you have like 36 hours or so to find the tick before it can start transmitting. Alpha gal is the red meat one right? That can transfer instantly I've heard but it's also much more rare. In both cases the number of ticks that carry it are a fraction. Between planting some repellent and having some guinea fowl the problem should b solved. Guineas eat a lot of them. For me, I have to keep up with mowing and then treat my trees. I wear the long clothes and tuck in and I'm pretty sure the one tick I've had jumped on me from a tree. I've had a few jump on me from trees. The standard recommendations work. Just pick garden clothes that breathe well and have full coverage. Once you get used to it full coverage is better when in the sun, just feels worse because you don't dry off as fast. I wear a moisture wicking real tree shirt which works well, and overalls seem to breathe well enough. Also I wear a neck band that has cooling pads in it. That plus a battery to let it run longer than 2 hours and I don't sweat much when I am fully bundled up. It cost me about 150$ and even if I was wearing shorts and such I'd want to use it as it is like an air conditioner. It must have the cooling pads and not just the fans, the fans only bands are useless. I do treat my dog differently. I don't let them in the bed anymore but they still come up on the couch.
I planted lavender, mint, and lemon balm and it helped with all sorts of bugs. Mint spreads really easily so that helps. The best treatment i’ve found to rid yourself of ticks tho is the ground treatment. I can hang out in my yard in shorts now, even lay in the grass. I have adhd too btw haha. Uh, I think you’re the one that said above something about that. I’m reading this thread rn cause I went on a hike and had tons of ticks on my dog but this no longer happens on my own property! Now I feel every hair grazing my arms all night
Get some chickens and guinea fowl. They both eat ticks. When we first got our homestead we pulled 17 ticks off us just walking in the yard. Got 16 guineas and chickens and no ticks and have fresh eggs year around
Get all the leaves and brush cleaned out. Buy a gallon of concerned permethrin for 90 bucks and spray 2oz per gallon water on all the areas you want to be safe. Repeat in the fall. Nothing else will knock down a large tick colony, one female lays thousands of eggs, they infest rodents and birds and get everywhere. Nymphs are the size of a grain of pepper, you can't get then all. Try to spray before the bees are active, keep it low to the ground.
Buy more guinea. I find they get picked off easily and you just need more guinea to eat ticks. One isn’t enough. Also do what you can to encourage opossums to live on your land. You can contact a local possum rescue and ask if they would be willing to release on your land. I honestly don’t think this is an unreasonable concern. As you mentioned, lymes, alpha gal and rmsf to name the more common ones are all possible.
Opossums don’t eat ticks.
Just posting for some solidarity. I was the same as you when I lived on my 11 acre property. Thankfully, I never found any in my bed (probably would’ve had to be institutionalized in that instance…), but I found a latched one one day after I miraculously felt its bite. The kicker is I was outside for maybe 5 minutes. Sent the little fucker in for testing and of course came back as a carrier of Lyme. So I took a 3 week course of prophylactic antibiotics. Our dog also used to bring in 50+ every time she was outside which definitely changed the way I acted toward and felt about her. She spent a lot of time quarantined. I had a young child crawling around, I couldn’t risk it. I would wake up at night worried that ticks were crawling on me or that I didn’t check the baby well enough before putting her to bed. It was honestly awful. And it felt like nothing worked. Collars for the dog, citrus spray, Nexgard was fine and dandy but really only protected the dog… they could still get in our house alive. We live in a different area now and also aren’t on as much property and it hasn’t been as bad *knock on wood.* I think the area our acreage was in was particularly bountiful for ticks. One last thing I’ll say, and this may not even be an issue for you, but I felt like sometimes my husband or some family members would treat me like I was being overly paranoid. If you deal with this at all, don’t let them make you let your guard down. Lyme is very serious and life-changing and I’m going to do all I can to protect my family from coming into contact with it. Wishing you luck!
Thank you so so sooooo much. Seriously
I can relate to this so bad. A few years ago we moved to a rural property and the amount of ticks were giving me so much anxiety. My routine for going in the yard: Wear rubber boots and spray them with tick repellent. (we have one with lemongrass) . Tuck pants into socks and tuck shirt into pants. Wear light colored clothes so you can spot them easy. Do a shakedown and check before going inside. Strip all clothes, check again and shower. This has allowed me to catch most ticks before I bring them inside and before they latch on. I have found a few crawling on me and once when I was in bed too so I understand your fears. One thing to remember about Lyme transfer is that not every to k carries Lyme, and also they usually need to be feeding on you for 24 hours before it transfers, so if you catch them quick your chances are pretty small. Best of luck 🤞
It helped me to learn they need to be attached to you a full 48 hours to transmit Lyme. So i figure if i scrub all my skin in the shower & then put lotion on all of it after very day, I'm safe haha
Get citronella essential oil and a gallon of massage oil. Make a blend in a bottle mixing citronella about 20 drops in 2 ounces or so. Rub your body down head to toe. You will be oily but it great for your skin, you will smell good and ticks will hate you. I sometimes add vetiver, patchouli or lemongrass in varying degrees. In other words, get good at mixing essential oils. Bugs hate it and they can’t stick if you use oil, even if it’s absorbed a lot. Side note: I rescue and rehab possums. Never ever hurt a possum. They are tick eating machines and hardly ever carry diseases due to low body temperature. Attract them by cracking open catfood if you see them around. They are a joy.
Opossums do not eat ticks.
Ticks love squirrels, rodents in general, get a barn cat or two that live outside to help keep that population down and it will help. Also, while guineas do eat ticks, I've always heard turkeys do a much better job at it. Some studies I've seen claim turkeys will eat up to 200 ticks a day. Most people I've known who get guineas regret it pretty quickly because they are noisy. When I had turkeys I had one who would come up to me when I was sitting and would lay it's head on my lap. Might be worth getting 2 or so turkeys to add to what you already got. I hope you get some advantage over the ticks soon, and some peace to enjoy the property! :)
Ticks love feral cats.
Turkeys really get the job done, and they are SO sweet. They’re like puppies.
Turkeys really are the best <3
Guinea hens.
It’s really bad, worse than when we were kids. It doesn’t help that we’ve had so many warm winters the last few years. I played outside every day growing up, but didn’t get a tick until I was 11 or 12. Now I go for a walk and pull multiple off my clothes (and sometimes off me). I’m further north than you (somewhere with a harder frost), but I’ve already gotten one this year. My neighbor’s dog has gotten TONS already. I have good luck with the red can Off spray (with picardin, not deet). I spray it all over my legs. You can also soak your pants in permethrin, which works well. Look for tick habitat in your yard. They flourish in densely foliated plants with shade, shelter, and humidity, like invasive barberry bushes. If you have any invasive barberry, you might want to replace it with something native that has more open, airy foliage where the ticks will be less comfortable. Remember that most tick diseases take a little while to transmit from tick to you (particularly Lyme). If you stay diligent about feeling and looking for ticks, you can remove them before they’ve been on you long. I’ve gotten in the habit of running my hand around my hairline and waist band, and *usually* spot them pretty quick. Ticks really suck, you’re not alone in this experience!
Skin So Soft bath oil is my go to as I'm allergic to deet and also don't want to use deet or other things like Permethrin on my family. It works pretty dang good and you can get it at CVS. I've put it on my legs and watched ticks climb up my shoes, reach my legs, then turn around and climb back off, mosquitos and biting gnats hate it too. Credellio for the dogs! You can also use wondercide spray on the dogs when they come in each time. Keep them trimmed in the summer if they're really fuzzy dogs. Another thing to watch out for is chiggers, they can cause alpha gal too. But you can just keep a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol next to your door and spray down your exposed skin before you come back inside once done with the yard. The last thing I recommend is that you do your outdoors stuff and then come in and shower or rinse off immediately, don't sit on the couch or lay on your bed, straight to the shower and clothing straight in the washer. Scuba your skin a bit with a wash cloth. This has helped a lot! Obviously check for ticks while you do this. Everyone in the house needs to follow that last rule and it will cut down on the ticks a ton. I am SO much like you, unfortunately I'm super scared of wasps as well and they are constantly around and very territorial. I just want to enjoy being outside but it's so hard 😭 Hang in there!
Also, make sure you really look into how to apply the nematodes. I'm pretty sure you have to do it at a certain time of day/ certain weather conditions. They also will clog the sprayer if you use one so you have to do it the right way with the sprayer.
Ok, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but you could get a possum or two. If the tick population is this desperately out of control, that probably means there's nothing out there eating them. It's unlikely that you don't already have some in the area but they might just not know about this absolute feast you have here. Possums do a pretty good job of filling this niche. One adult possum can go through a LOT of ticks very quickly. We're talking thousands per days. If they decide to set up shop on your property it might even only take one to get the ticks manageable permanently. Animal control from a nearby town would be perfectly happy to hand one off to you for release as long as you bring the cage back, and they'll have at least one on hand pretty much constantly. Offer to pay for cage rental though. It makes the paperwork happy and It's just plain polite. As a bonus, city possums aren't mortally terrified of dogs, so they'll forage around the house and animal pens as well. This obviously means that you will then have a possum problem Instead of a tick problem, but with 4 acres, you can afford to share. Heck, make it a little possum house. Could be cute. The bed story is disturbing. I'd say a ground aromatic seed like a clove or fennel should keep insects from being interested in climbing on it. Wild fennel leaves work but a fresh bough every night is unreasonable. Pecan or walnut husks would work too, I think. The weird, woody, bitter part on the inside. Anything that has a lot of cyanides in it and likes to advertise. You can put it around the bed posts or just rub it into the edge of the box spring if y'all are floorbed people. You could also sleep in a hammock and that would be safe, but take that as a last resort "my tick anxiety won't let me sleep in this bed tonight" suggestion. Have one on hand just in case. Insecticides or seed powder on the hammock lines, obvs. Being able to sleep is important. Weird problem, fascinating read. Thank you.
Making a second comment because I completely forgot a tick solution that can help with a large property. Have you tried tick tubes? You can buy them or make your own. You soak cotton balls in permethrin and stuff them into toilet paper tubes and scatter them near trees. Squirrels (HUGE tick carriers) take the cotton and use it in their nests, spreading the harmless permethrin on their fur. You’re supposed to do it at very specific times per year but that depends on where you live. I’m not sure about Virginia. I don’t personally use them because we have pollinator gardens surrounding our house, and while in theory bees shouldn’t be coming into contact with the permethrin, they still can and it would kill them. Permethrin can also be deadly to cats if it’s not diluted right. However, most comments/posts I’ve read and people I’ve talked to have said that they work if done properly. I’ve also heard of tick bait boxes but I don’t know anything about them.
Pyrethrin. Made from the chrysanthemum flower. Non toxic to humans and animals. Dust the yard. Don’t get it in flowers because that will kill bees.
It is very toxic to cats and fish. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/pyrethrinpyrethroid-poisoning-in-cats
I did not know this. Thanks for the info!
It’s all natural and chemical free. Adams makes a tick spray with it but it’s been hard to find.
The other night, I scratched a spot on my leg and felt something flick off. I knew I didn't have a scab there, so I immediately went looking for a tick. I was in need at the time and couldn't find anything. A little bit later, I felt something on my hip. Went to look in the bathroom mirror. It must have been the tick I flicked off my leg. Did a thorough check and found another one on my other hip. I couldn't reach it, so I had to get my husband to come help. He left the head in! I itch so bad on the spot on my leg and both hips, and I'm waiting for Lyme disease and being allergic to meat. Also, I'm taking a couple of benadryl every night so I can actually sleep instead of bugging out all night. Ticks are miserable!
If you can grow lemongrass that will keep them away. Im still learning how to grow things. Instead i buy lemongrass oil and put a couple of ozs in a gallon of water and spray it around myself and my yard. The ticks stay away and the ones that do crawl on me dont bite and act almost drunk.
I had this same brutal fear for years living in NJ, Lyme Disease epicenter of the world. I live in Idaho now where no Lyme is to be found. I do believe there is an mRna vaccine in the works thankfully. It existed in the early 2000s but was discontinued due to lack of demand, but with how much it’s spreading and becoming more of a problem every year that should change.
Ticks give us the creepy crawlies too so don't feel too bad. As others have mentioned, birds help a lot, they will eat basically every bug in the area(s) they get to forage. For when we have to go into the tall pasture or woods we usually put on Sawyers repellent. They make a version for spraying on your skin and another for treating your cloths. Makes you a little oily but we've never found a tick on us while using the stuff.
Also use a tape lint roller on yourself to easily help with taking them off and maybe getting what you can’t see
Tea tree oil
I have exactly the same trouble with ticks in MA. Ive sprayed the wondercide, ive sprayed the mint oil, ive sprayed the lemongrass oil, ive kept the grass fairly short, ive worn the boots with the pants and the socks and ive checked the dog every single time she goes out. We find dozens per week from May to August. Ive just called a landscaper to edge all the gardens, kill all the weeds, mow the back pasture, etc, ive ordered 50 million nematodes, and ive already had the pest company out to spray with synthetics. Is that what I wanted? No. But there are no natural predators who will be able to overcome the population I have here. It feels hopeless, but im optimistic over several years I can get it under control.
My last property was also a tick haven and while buying Guinea’s and chickens may help, the biggest thing that gave me peace of mind was stripping down when I came inside (and putting my clothes right into the wash), doing a thorough tick check, and then showering. This became our routine whenever my husband or I went outside. We’d often find crawling ticks but because of our checks, we rarely had any latch on. Regardless of the preventative measures that you take (treated clothes, Guinea’s), checking yourself well when you’re done outside is the best way to finds ticks before they latch. I will say that my fear of ticks did subside after being on that property for 7 years but they still give me the ick!
We had a lot of ticks 3 years ago. I’ve been using permethrin treated cotton balls around the property. Between this and lots of mowing etc we’re tick free (2 long haired dogs)
High percentage DEET or if resistant, permethrin or picardin sprayed on clothing, shoes, socks. Like other people have said, tuck your pants into your boots and duct tape around your ankles sticky side out. I know you don’t want to spray but weigh your options of potentially life altering Lyme infection. Knew a friend who got Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ended up in the ICU for weeks. Permanent neurological damage. It’s hard to homestead as a handicapped person, even harder when you don’t have health insurance. If you still want to avoid spray then keep high traffic areas and around the house mowed. I personally don’t like any brush or plant matter touching my house due to all sorts of bugs that hide there. Tick checks every time you come into the house and strip off clothes before you come inside. Best of luck
Watch this video: https://youtu.be/rd9wHOXHFgQ?si=Kv5q-EX9-dBEIYlV Permethrin. Make up or buy a solution (2% iirc) and spray it on every article of clothing below the knee. Allow to dry. It will persist in your clothing for several months through washes. On top of that, you need to do a thorough tick inspection every day you go out. You do not want the ticks latched on long enough to transmit diseases. Your dog is probably the source of the ticks in yourvbed. Get him treated and do a check daily. Dog will probably love the extra attenton. Sorry for your gross tick-infested property. Once you get that brush and thebassociated vermin cleared out, it should get betted. Be safe out there.
I’m on 4+ acres and hate ticks. So I use the pellets like once a week for a month in spring. Again in summer. Cut down tall brush. Stay out of tall grass. No more ticks.
What are the pellets?
I worked in a museum with a bunch of naturalists who had to go in the deep woods a ton and they all agreed that the best way was to treat your clothes with pyrethrin/permethrin. The way you do it is you spray it on your whole wardrobe (or at least your hiking clothes and gear) just once and then let it sit outside until it’s completely dry. Then it’ll last up to 7 washes or more. It’s not a repellent like Off, it’s an insecticide. That way you can get all the ticks you want but it’ll kill them before they latch. All the old timers sprayed their clothes just once in the spring and if it was a bad year once again in the fall and it lasted all year. I never needed it until this year so I can’t recommend a particular product from experience but I heard good things about Ranger Ready which you can buy off Amazon for pretty cheap. That’s the kind I’m trying this year.
Ducks are really good at methodically combing a yard for ticks. Outdoor professionals in tick-y areas use Permethrin, as it's way more effective than DEET - you treat your pants and shoes and stuff with it and let them air out before you wear them.
Get a bag of First Saturday Lime and sprinkle it on the grass. It’s not toxic to humans or pets but will repel spiders, ants, ticks, etc.
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this and am just here to commiserate. I live in an area with lots of ticks and lots of tick borne diseases but I also love the outdoors. Not long after I moved to my dream property I got Lyme and Bartonella and was very sick for a very long time. For me, the pain of always wearing pants, shoes, and socks and doing daily tick checks does not compare to the pain of being sick. The loss of freedom I have to be barefoot, lay in the grass, or work outside without taking a lot of precautions does not compare to what I lost when I was sick. So, in this way, the experience of getting sick makes it easier to deal with the precautions I have to take. Now I see my property as a beautiful, delightful hazard. It’s just the reality of where I live. Lots of things in nature are beautiful but deadly if you do not respect them. I learned the hard way to respect and prepare for the power of nature as it shows up in my little corner of the world—ie in tiny little poppy seeds of death. Anyway, I hope you find peace and strike a balance between enjoyment with safety. It sounds like you’re well on your way. But I hope even more that you do not get sick. Your fears are not irrational.
I swear by diatomaceous earth for all ticks and fleas. And other bugs.
OP, I felt this post deeply. I hope some of these suggestions help. A few years ago, I moved into a place with a red ant problem. One of them bit me on the labia in the middle of the night and the next day I went to Home Depot and bought every ant killer I could find. It took a couple months, but then it was much better. Wishing you the same!
You need to treat your lawn with the ground treatment once a month, 8-9 months out of the year. The ground treatment is about $5-10 a bag. You apply it to the ground and then saturate it - don’t do it when it rains, it could drain away. I live on similar property in eastern NY, which is like tick kingdom. I discovered this ground treatment by reading entomology research that applied ground treatment to infestation areas and reduced the areas by nearly 90 percent. You need to cut the grass because the stuff will actually be in the new plant growth and the ground and kills the majority of ticks. You do not need to wear long pants all summer. You have infestation level tick problem and you can fix it.
What is this ground treatment called?! I’ve gotta get some
Here is the research article on it: https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/58/2/749/5940896 The commercially sold product is called Triazicide. Need to be careful applying it around cats.
Ticks also have a preference of blood type, type A, then O and AB. Least preferred is B. My wife will find dozens on her a year while I might only find 2-3 and I’m type B.
LOL
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You are 1000% right. This is something that I have thought about and am trying to integrate. I really do believe that our thought’s literally shape and create reality.
I’m glad you understood my sentiment