How Do I Deal With Ticks?

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[josilynl]

Opossums deserve an applause for their efforts to control the tick populations 👏

[MrTwistedroot]

Being an ex-guerrilla grower, I spent a lot of time in the woods in America's heartland and know this plight well. Gold Bond medicated powder with the zinc oxide is a game changer. It's like boric acid to cockroaches, it aggravates their exoskeleton. Tea tree oil on the outside of shoes helps also.

[bslturtle]

Here in Maine, we put out tubes stuffed with a bit of cotton ball, or dog hair, sprayed with parathion. The mice are the vector that the tick nymphs grow on during the winter. The mice take up the cotton/dog hair and use it for their nests. The parathion kills the ticks. We have only done this once, this last fall. It is April 24th and it appears that there are less ticks so far this year, although that is difficult to assess so early.

[heatherdeladurantaye]

I have two chickens that free range the whole neighborhood. I haven't had a tick problem since.

[sethvaughn]

As a native of NE Pennsylvania, I’ve dealt with my fair share of ticks over the years. I’ve utilized all the methods you’ve mentioned. My usual go-to is also simply being aware of where they are and tactfully avoiding those areas, but many times, this is not feasible. If I expect to be walking through a lot of brush, ferns, leaves, or tall grass, I’ll constantly check my clothing. Truthfully, I do like permethrin, as that makes your time outdoors virtually worry-free, though I do understand why people are off-put by coating their clothing in a toxic chemical. My father’s method of tick avoidance is actually very effective in most cases: tall rubber boots. Ticks do not like climbing on the rubber, and will seek easier prey when confronted with this type of impediment.

[watsonrk]

I've practiced exactly these talking points for years, remove a dozen ticks a year off me and the dog and have yet to contract Lyme. Not only important to be aware, but get the tick off immediately, monitor the bite site. Thanks Adam!
Educational videos like this could really save your life, Lyme is no joke.

[russelfigley]

Now I feel itchy, crawlies all over myself. Thanks for the information.

[willymags]

You are the perfect gentleman Adam, we love you. Don't ever change. We appreciate all the useful information you give us. You're very enjoyable to watch and listen to. There are so many people out here in the world and I talk to them on the Internet strangers complete strangers but yet there's one thing we have in common and that is we all say how much we love Adam on learn your land. Till next time, God bless

[cloudstar]

Thank you! I have lived in the Hudson Valley ("Upstate" NY) most of my life and have been treated for Lyme disease 4 times.
Once I had it so bad I needed IV antibiotics and was told I might never walk again. Fortunately, with the help of vitamins, supplements, and a few anti-inflammatory medications I have made an almost complete comeback. I appreciate your educational videos. Especially this one. While I know most of this stuff, it's a helpful reminder and also a great learning tool I can pass on to others. Happy Trails!

[secretzombie]

A fun experiment that I have done in the past to help better understand a ticks reproductive process and ability, is to when I have came across a full plump tick, usually from dogs, is to remove the tick and place it into a secure container, such as a jar with lid, then wait until the tick parishes, from the beginning of its demise it starts excreting hundreds of eggs and babies and throughout its decomposition, it releases thousands upon thousands of near microscopic eggs and hatchlings. It really provides and understanding of how much offspring just one fully feasted mature adult can produce. Its amazing! Stay safe everyone!

[bkm]

Growing up in Florida, I saw some of the biggest ugly grey ticks in the U.S.. When I was about 9, I was outside at my grandparents house and found some of the most beautiful soft pink cluster of eggs on this very common weed, decided to take it home and place it on the windowsill hoping they would hatch, well they did and it was a bunch of ticks. Horrified, I grabbed a tissue to wipe them up and flushed them down the toilet, lol, never brought any pretty eggs clustered on a weed again, lol. Excellent video, I'm sure whomever sees it will be grateful. Thank you!

[sonofabear]

Japanese knotweed, Cat's Claw and Lion's mane helped me recover from lyme disease. Andrographis and Chinese skullcap helped a lot too!

[oldandintheway]

A man I used to work for was a helicopter pilot. He spent well above 60, 000 dollars getting all his licenses to fly choppers professionally. It was his dream job, he loved it. He got lymes disease and it permanently debilitated him so he can never fly again. Bad disease!

[urankjj]

I love the "maneuvering" advice. While out in the woods I treat everything as if it were electrified and if I brush against it I'll get shocked. Also don't forget to have a pair of reading glasses if you need them. You can't deal with the ticks if you can't see them. Happy

[protow]

Powdered sulfur.

Back in my Army days we spent a LOT of time crawling in the bush, laying on the ground, sleeping on the ground, etc.
Before going on a patrol out would come coffee cans with 2-3 pounds of powdered sulfur. 4-5 tablespoons goes into a sock, tie a knot in the sock, drop your BDUs and start powdering yourself down. As in everywhere. Also boot tops, legs, waist band, backs, necks, hair, I mean everywhere.

When we started using the sulfur we had no more issues with ticks or chiggers. GONE.

[platypus]

Hi Adam, A very interesting video. I have researched ticks and the diseases they carry for over 30 years. I like the way you presented your video and look forward to more. Thank you.

[Goaterd]

"Before tick bite... After tick bite..."
I'm not sure how many others got this reference to the classic Buddhist saying, but I appreciated it greatly! Thanks, Adam!

[LadyTSurvival]

When I'm wearing shorts, and I go out (live in massive tick territory) I smear dish soap all over my legs. Works great, non toxic and helps keep chiggers off too. I started doing this when I got into a chigger bed and had hundreds crawling up my legs. I washed them off with dish soap and it worked so good, I put soap on my legs and didn't get any more the rest of the day. I'm clearing brush, trees and leaf litter on 7 acres. Once I picked off 28 ticks in one day. Only 1 was biting me but since using dish soap it's drastically reduced it.

[tag]

Ticks are why I use a hammock when camping out. The buggers generally don't crawl more than a meter up. Understanding how they hunt, which is what they are doing, goes a long way towards avoiding them.

[ruinsane]

Thank you so much for this video, Adam! I know I'm one of the many LYL students who have emailed you with this very question!

I would like to share one of my strategies for inspecting the body for ticks, especially for ones that have already latched on. After being in the woods, I strip down and do the "feel test". This can be done on dry skin or in the shower. Because even the tiniest of ticks can be felt on the skin. So on dry skin, I run my hands lightly over my entire body and feel for anything foreign. Imagine if you had a single grain of sand on your skin - you would feel it!! When doing the feel test in the shower, I lather up and run my hands over every inch of my body, especially the places you are probably wondering about right now! ;) The fingertips are very sensitive and can detect even the smallest foreign invader.

My husband and I have each found several ticks on ourselves using the feel test alone. But like you said, Adam, I'm not telling anyone how they should check for ticks - just stating what has been working for us!