Evidence of new tick-borne illness

This fucker was attached after a ride last week. Found it right after I got home.

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JimN said:
I've been told to be careful with deet on climbing equipment and ropes, because it can degrade the material. I've been spraying it on all my biking clothes along with my arms and legs before heading out for years, and I haven't noticed any issues though.
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My camera equipment shows a lot of scars from deet. I do use it when sitting in the woods for hours but it wrecks plastic.
 
Its a good time of the year to avoid trails with a lot of over growth. Ride the well worn trails
 
Powassan isn’t a new virus, they’ve known about it since the 60’s, it’s an arbovirus, same family as Zika. Frankly speaking, I’d be more concerned with getting Ehrlichiosis or Babesiosis, since they are misdiagnosed almost 100% of time, whereas whenever someone comes in with encephalitis, the first thing that they think is Zika or bacteria.

Ticks are usually found in lower-lying shrubs and grass, they don't drop from trees, they are not masters of vector physics. They "quest" off of grass and leaves with their front legs, grabbing onto whatever rubs by. They do seek heat and CO2, so they will also actively move through the leaf litter towards you if you sit for long enough. And you definitely need to watch what you spray your deet on, it also destroys Goretex. I get eaten alive by skeeters when I fish because I don’t want to destroy my expensive waders.
 
One of the young girls in the house I was staying at in Moab got Ehrlichiosis or Babesiosis last year, I forget which one.
 
Monkey Soup said:
And you definitely need to watch what you spray your deet on, it also destroys Goretex. I get eaten alive by skeeters when I fish because I don’t want to destroy my expensive waders.
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Permethrin on my clothes and deet on my skin. 100 years from now I won't give af about chemical exposure to me or my clothes. Momento mori
 
Permethrin is the way to go. Toxicity is practically non existent in humans, when you follow directions (ie, don't spray it on you). FYI, it's a derivative of the chrysanthemum flower.

Causes paralysis in insects...paralyzed bugs can't bite.
 
to save money you can buy permethrin at tractor supply in a 10% concentrate (for farm animals). 1.4 oz of the 10% into a 28oz spray bottle of water gets you the equivalent concentration of the stuff they sell for spraying on your clothes (o.5% permethrin). For $20 to buy the concentrate you can make 5 gallons of the stuff.
 
I still don't get how Permethrin is OK if it's on your clothes and not your skin.

Either way, this thread cost me $20 as I ordered Deet and Permethrin from Amazon.
 
Santapez said:
I still don't get how Permethrin is OK if it's on your clothes and not your skin.

Either way, this thread cost me $20 as I ordered Deet and Permethrin from Amazon.
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I don't claim to understand the actual chemistry behind it, but I suspect it has something to do with being mixed with some sort of carrier aiding cell permability.

Think a flea collar; you don't need any special precautions to handle it (or put it around your dogs neck).

Please do be careful if you have cats. Permethrin is toxic to felines (seizures, etc). Once it's dry on the clothes, they should be okay, but don't like them in a basket or any place where the furball(s) can lay on them.
 
StayHydrated said:
From the CDC: Ticks find their hosts by detecting animals´ breath and body odors, or by sensing body heat, moisture, and vibrations. I could see where some people might be more susceptible than others.

^This process of ticks waiting for one or more of these markers and then stretching its legs out to grab onto you is called "questing". Makes ticks sound like they have a dungeonmaster's guide at home or something. "D20 roll to attach to human..."

I have read that CO2 is a not insignificant marker for ticks (and other insects, one being mosquitos) to find potential hosts.

Anyone have feedback on/experience with treating their cycling clothing with permethrin? I bought some but am reluctant to spray it on all of my lycra and potentially wreck it. Would also be interested to hear if anyone has feedback on how often they reapply it, if they've had skin interactions, etc. I'm immunocompromised and had Lyme a few years ago (on top of the existing immune crap) and would prefer to not have do go through that again. I experienced one of these firsthand and it was probably the most miserable few hours of my entire life. Not exaggerating.
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a hunter friend swears by permethin but i'm reluctant to use it hunters put it on their outer layer of clothing i haven't found any info as to how it would react with skin when sweating and being that close to your body
 
teabagger11 said:
a hunter friend swears by permethin but i'm reluctant to use it hunters put it on their outer layer of clothing i haven't found any info as to how it would react with skin when sweating and being that close to your body
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This has been my questions too. I was wondering if I could treat my socks and shoes for example, but how harmful are those chemicals once you heat up and start sweating or does it dry into the material forever and resist moisture?
 
teabagger11 said:
a hunter friend swears by permethin but i'm reluctant to use it hunters put it on their outer layer of clothing i haven't found any info as to how it would react with skin when sweating and being that close to your body
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There's some research out there that they did where they placed permethrin-treated patches of fabric on rabbits' backs for a prolonged period of time(days/weeks?). I'll have to go looking for that again.
 
Kaleidopete said:
Permethrin is what I've been using for a few years now and I've gotten no ticks.
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What do you guys do as the weather warms up? I'm already in short sleeves and shorts. Seems to me that you still have to use DEET on exposed skin, or plan on sweating much more in long sleeves and pants.
 
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