[Triumph61]

[][] Our very first day of geocaching was both fun and disasterous at the same time. My husband and I took our three kids and two dogs and had SO MUCH FUN! We are new to this activity and to the area. We have been in Kansas for only seven months and would have LOVED to read about the hazards of geocaching...like spending the next two days decontaminating our house from TICKS!!! Some of the people I work with said it is supposed to be a bad year for ticks because of the mild winter, but I really want to continue geocaching...any suggestions????

[Max and 99]

I have no doubt I'll die from Lyme disease rather than anything else. SO many tick bites!!!

We always always always do a tick check after any caches that involve bushwacking. We don't want them in the car, or the house. As soon as we get home, showers are taken.

It's a good idea to always have several pairs of tweezers with you to pull off the ticks. I hate them with a passion, but on the other hand I know it's part of geocaching in the woods, so I take precautions and take steps as soon as I get out of the woods.

After one trip with the dog in the woods, and taking all the ticks off the poor thing, we no longer take the dogs with us to the woods. It's not worth it!

[Pax42]

Triumph61, on 20 March 2012 - 05:21 PM, said:

[][] Our very first day of geocaching was both fun and disasterous at the same time. My husband and I took our three kids and two dogs and had SO MUCH FUN! We are new to this activity and to the area. We have been in Kansas for only seven months and would have LOVED to read about the hazards of geocaching...like spending the next two days decontaminating our house from TICKS!!! Some of the people I work with said it is supposed to be a bad year for ticks because of the mild winter, but I really want to continue geocaching...any suggestions????

Hi Triumph61. It was my cache you logged today. I just sent you a private message with a link to Permethrin. It is highly recommended if you wish to cache in Kansas or Missouri woods during spring, summer, and early fall. It is indeed expected to be extra bad this year for ticks and possibly mosquitoes as well. We basically skipped winter in the midwest. There were tick sightings all through December, January and February.

[dakboy]

Lots and lots of bug spray that specifically calls out ticks as something it repels

Long pants

Light-colored clothing (makes them easier to see)

Frequent tick checks. Don't wait till you get home, check before you get in the car, when you stop in a clear area for a snack/drink, etc. Ticks tend to migrate toward your warmer areas - upper thighs, armpits, etc. Stop them before they get there.

Stay out of the weeds & away from leaves

There are no "hazards of geocaching" that are unique to geocaching - they come with any outdoor activity.

[Coldgears]

I live an area with the highest concentration of Lyme disease in the country. I know a lot of people with it, and many of them rarely go in the woods.

This, however, does not stop me from geocaching in the woods. Or does it stop most people in my area from going in to woods for any reason.

Be smart. Check for ticks. If you see a bullseye, get to the doctors ASAP and kill the disease before it's too late.

Yes, there is a gross factor involved, but you'd probably swallowed a few gnats, and have had more than a fair share of Daddy Long Legs crawling on you. Not a huge deal.

[StarBrand]

Deep woods bug spray is a must - especially pant legs and shoe/socks. Even then - gotta check for the ticks before getting back in the car.

[Max and 99]

When I first started geocaching in the woods, I was afraid to use any kind of tick repellent on myself or the kids. A friend, who is a veterinarian, told me that any disease I got from ticks would be far worse than the effects of the chemicals in the tick repellent. I soon after realized that the tick repellent isn't on us very often-we wash it off as soon as we get home anyway.

And we definitely check for ticks BEFORE getting back into the car. We sometimes miss them, but we most certainly give a good look!

Oklahoma has had a very warm winter, like the rest of the midwest, and the ticks are already finding the cachers!

[Totem Clan]

Max and 99, on 20 March 2012 - 06:08 PM, said:

When I first started geocaching in the woods, I was afraid to use any kind of tick repellent on myself or the kids. A friend, who is a veterinarian, told me that any disease I got from ticks would be far worse than the effects of the chemicals in the tick repellent. I soon after realized that the tick repellent isn't on us very often-we wash it off as soon as we get home anyway.

And we definitely check for ticks BEFORE getting back into the car. We sometimes miss them, but we most certainly give a good look!

Oklahoma has had a very warm winter, like the rest of the midwest, and the ticks are already finding the cachers!

Oh yes. One on Sunday and one yesterday.

... but none today.

[hukilaulau]

1)DEET containing repellent on skin
2) Cabela's bug skinz clothes
3) permethrin on outside of clothes, hat, pack

most experts say that if you get a tick off you within 24 hours, you're safe from Lyme disease.
I always ask to get a Lyme titer added to any routine bloodwork I get done.

FWIW: This is expected to be a particularly bad year for ticks in my area, too, but not because of the warm winter. It has to do with a heavy acorn crop!

I hate chiggers worse than ticks. I always say, "Wait 'til you've had a bad case of chiggers on your ankles, you'll WISH you were only dying of Lyme disease!"

And if you do get chigger bites, here are two surprising itch stoppers that will give you relief for a few hours: Listerine mouthwash and Purell.

This post has been edited by hukilaulau: 20 March 2012 - 07:47 PM

[dphickey]

The Missouri Department of Conservation posted this today http://mdc.mo.gov/bl...ield/tick-alert It has a lot of good information about what to look out for with ticks.

[Shop99er]

Wow! Sorry about the tick infestation. I grew up in Kansas, and that's one of the things I really don't miss. Here in Washington State, most people don't even know what a tick is.

When I go to Texas (tick-land South) I always grab my brother. Ever since we were kids, he's been a tick magnet.

The ONLY time I've ever had a tick on me, he wasn't there.

[uxorious]

Shop99er, on 20 March 2012 - 08:19 PM, said:

Wow! Sorry about the tick infestation. I grew up in Kansas, and that's one of the things I really don't miss. Here in Washington State, most people don't even know what a tick is.

When I go to Texas (tick-land South) I always grab my brother. Ever since we were kids, he's been a tick magnet.

The ONLY time I've ever had a tick on me, he wasn't there.

One more reason I like living here in the wet side of Washington. In the six years or so I have been Geocaching I have only seen one tick on one of my dogs. In the years before Geocaching I can only remember two other times I had a dog with a tick.

The only person I have known personally that got a tick was my son. We took him to a doctor to have it removed and the doctor had to call someone to ask the best way to remove it. It was the first one he saw!

[Lieblweb]

Get some Permethrin - it's a liquid in a bottle. Take a pair of paints and pre-treat (spray) the permethrin on the pants (soak them) and let them dry. As soon as the ticks come in contact with premethrin treated pants or clothes, they die.

Mark the pants - so you know which pants were treated. The treatment can last thru several washings.

[Totem Clan]

Lieblweb, on 20 March 2012 - 09:57 PM, said:

Get some Permethrin - it's a liquid in a bottle. Take a pair of paints and pre-treat (spray) the permethrin on the pants (soak them) and let them dry. As soon as the ticks come in contact with premethrin treated pants or clothes, they die.

Mark the pants - so you know which pants were treated. The treatment can last thru several washings.

It works great but make sure you read the precautions and use as directed. This stuff will kill cats.

[Max and 99]

uxorious, on 20 March 2012 - 08:57 PM, said:

The only person I have known personally that got a tick was my son. We took him to a doctor to have it removed and the doctor had to call someone to ask the best way to remove it. It was the first one he saw!

That is funny!!

[NYPaddleCacher]

Lieblweb, on 20 March 2012 - 09:57 PM, said:

Get some Permethrin - it's a liquid in a bottle. Take a pair of paints and pre-treat (spray) the permethrin on the pants (soak them) and let them dry. As soon as the ticks come in contact with premethrin treated pants or clothes, they die.

Mark the pants - so you know which pants were treated. The treatment can last thru several washings.

I went to Costa Rica for work/vacation last year and ny wife was concern about mosquitoes (and specifically malaria carrying mosquitoes). We bought a *case* of permethrin and treated pretty much all the clothes (only outerwear) we brought with us. The treatment did not involved spraying the clothes. Each bottle was mixed with four bottles (using the permethrin bottle) of water and put into the provided ziplog bag. The recommendation was to put up to five items of clothing (typically two shirts, two pants/shorts, and a pair of socks) into the bag, shake the bag so that all the clothing was wet, then let it soak for several hours (4-6 if I recall). Then hang dry the items. The claim on the permethrin instructions was that it would be effective for up to six washings.

None of us got a bite during the entire trip and we spent several days in a rain forest.

[tigervhaga]

Here in NJ we had one particular cache that had some minor bushwhacking.

We came out and my girlfriend and I each had about 10-20 ticks crawling all over our jeans. The dog was covered. What a mess. Spent about a half hour cleaning ourselves off, and we still let one or two in the car by mistake. Dog got bit too. Gotta get to CVS one of these days for some spray on caches like those. Yikes.

[nthacker66]

Here is what i do. Go to rei and buy permethrin, i suggest the soak, i do get the spray myself, but i tend to over spray. Spray your socks, your pants, your shirt tht you intend to go out in. Let it dry over night. I also suggest spraying the inside of your hiking boots. At least at the ankle. Spray outside too. One other thing to do, spary your car seats and floors. This will ensure the hitchhikers will die if they happen to fall off your clothes and decide to live in your car.

For your skin, if you arent sensitive to deet, get the jungle juice. 98% deet. Some people cannot hndle tht much, if you are one of them, work your way down. Me personally, have developed a high sensitivity to deet where it makes me sick, so even 25% deet i cannot put on my skin. Deet work great though. If deet isnt your thing, i suggest the herbal armor. Or cedar-al. Bugs hate the stuff. For any skin contact repellents, the more skin you put it in, the better. At minimum, put it on exposed skin. At best, put it on lower legs to the knees, your waist above the belt line, neck, face.

Ticks love skin, so the less skin they hve access to, the less likely they will be there. Tape tie tuck. That means tape or tie off your pants at your ankles and tuck them into your boots. As well, tuck your shirt in really good to your waist.

One of the very best things to do is stay diligent. Meaning to stop often in clear areas and do a spot tick check.

When you get home, take all of your clothes off in the garage and stuff it into a bag. Dump it into your washer, wash in hot water. Then do a full body check for ticks. Then hop in a hot bath, as hot as you can stand it. Use herbal bath wash. Lavender, chamomille, etc. bugs cannot stand that stuff either.

Finally, if you do have a tick attached, dont panic. Relax and be still. If you can get it yourself, either a tick remove tool or good pair of tweezers will get it off. Get right down to its mandibles, grab ahold and pull straight up. They hold on good so you need to pull constant but steady. You do not want to leave the head in.even if a sucker or two remin in dont worry, it will fall out on its own.

The only thing to be concerned about is if a tick is engorged. That means they have hd. Good blood meal. Ticks generally will not transmit disease if theyhve been attached less than 24 hours. So the sooner you get it off the better. If you do suspect you had one on, or do have an engorged tick, get it off, put it in a plastic baggie, and get to a doctor so they can analyse the tick, and possibly get you on an antibiotic.

Hope tht all helps. Sorry for typos, on an ipad,

[Lieblweb]

Totem Clan, on 20 March 2012 - 10:07 PM, said:

It works great but make sure you read the precautions and use as directed. This stuff will kill cats.

Shouldn't it be common sense not to drink it, snort it, rub it in your eyes, stick it on your ...???

[Team Dennis]

I know it is overkill but it bears repeating: If you bring your dog (or other animal) outside make sure they are protected!!! We use Frontline on our dog and it works pretty well. Just have to keep her out of the water for 48 hours after application in order for the stuff to soak in.

[Totem Clan]

Lieblweb, on 21 March 2012 - 05:31 AM, said:

Totem Clan, on 20 March 2012 - 10:07 PM, said:

It works great but make sure you read the precautions and use as directed. This stuff will kill cats.

Shouldn't it be common sense not to drink it, snort it, rub it in your eyes, stick it on your ...???

You would think so, but some folks need extra ..... umm..... instruction.

It's good stuff. Just be careful until it dries if you have cats. That's all.

[Totem Clan]

Team Dennis, on 21 March 2012 - 05:48 AM, said:

I know it is overkill but it bears repeating: If you bring your dog (or other animal) outside make sure they are protected!!! We use Frontline on our dog and it works pretty well. Just have to keep her out of the water for 48 hours after application in order for the stuff to soak in.

It's a bit off the subject but, make sure they have heartworm treatment as well. It's spread by skeeters so make sure your flea and tick meds work on them.


BTW Frontline does.

[Davequal]

I live in New England here we had winter in October. Ticks are going to be vicious this year. I can not endorse THIS PRODUCT enough.... are your self with it AND USE IT.

[likelyladybug]

We just did a 6 mile bushwhack cache here in Massachusetts we used Deep Woods OFF with Deet and it had no effect on the nasty little things. We literally picked off hundreds of them off of each one of us. We typically keep deep woods caching for the winter. I read that they don't like the smell of lavendar so I may pick up some bodyspray and see if that helps. It's going to be a long season here too.

[Davequal]

likelyladybug, on 21 March 2012 - 07:02 AM, said:

We just did a 6 mile bushwhack cache here in Massachusetts we used Deep Woods OFF with Deet and it had no effect on the nasty little things. We literally picked off hundreds of them off of each one of us. We typically keep deep woods caching for the winter. I read that they don't like the smell of lavendar so I may pick up some bodyspray and see if that helps. It's going to be a long season here too.

Try the stuff I linked to above. I went in the wood for a few hours this weekend and came out clean. This are is known for ticks.

[Ambrosia]

Shop99er, on 20 March 2012 - 08:19 PM, said:

Wow! Sorry about the tick infestation. I grew up in Kansas, and that's one of the things I really don't miss. Here in the [wet side of] Washington State, most people don't even know what a tick is.

When I go to Texas (tick-land South) I always grab my brother. Ever since we were kids, he's been a tick magnet.

The ONLY time I've ever had a tick on me, he wasn't there.

This post has been edited by Ambrosia: 21 March 2012 - 07:13 AM

[DragonsWest]

Avoid wearing any fuzzy fabric or denim.

Ideally when going into brush you should be dressed in outdoors clothing which is like smooth knit nylon, which gives ticks less chance to attach.

I don't bother with the tick repellent, I simply dress to avoid them and perform periodic tick checks. Coastal California is Tickville again this year, so I'm careful. After a few weeks of hot, dry weather we'll see less of them, but they're booming at the moment.

[three chimney]

During tick season, we undress in the garage, then put our clothes in a trash bag and then spray inside the bag with bug spray and then leave the bag sealed over night. We have found too many ticks crawling out of the laundry basket.

[DragonsWest]

Tick link, from a couple years ago, when I was performing some Tick Research (know your enemy )

[The Doubtful Guest]

I had never gotten a tick on me my whole life, (strange for a outdoorsy country guy like myself) until I visited Gettysburg a couple years ago. We were touring the battlefield, and I noticed this lone monument out in this grassy field off to the side. I wanted to go check it out, so I did. Later on sitting on a bench, I noticed FOUR ticks on me....AH! I used a rather unique way to remove them haha, I grabbed the gum out my mouth suck it on one and ripped them out, I did this to the next three as well. pahaha, probably not the recommended way of tick removal, but it worked =P.

My dad and brother had a tick each as well. Though theirs did not establish themselves like mine lol. Apparently the ticks didn't like my mom or sister....

[NYPaddleCacher]

Davequal, on 21 March 2012 - 06:56 AM, said:

I live in New England here we had winter in October. Ticks are going to be vicious this year. I can not endorse THIS PRODUCT enough.... are your self with it AND USE IT.

I've also used "Ben's 100 Max Pump Spray" with good success. When used in combination with permethrin soaked clothing it's really effective.



If one still *does* find a tick that has embedded, use one of these to remove it. There is also a tick removal tool called a "Tick Twister" which is supposed to work well.

[ocklawahaboy]

Lieblweb, on 20 March 2012 - 09:57 PM, said:

Get some Permethrin - it's a liquid in a bottle. Take a pair of paints and pre-treat (spray) the permethrin on the pants (soak them) and let them dry. As soon as the ticks come in contact with premethrin treated pants or clothes, they die.

Mark the pants - so you know which pants were treated. The treatment can last thru several washings.

Can I pretreat my hamster with this stuff? It's about that time.

[DragonsWest]

Putasokinhet, on 21 March 2012 - 09:59 AM, said:

I had never gotten a tick on me my whole life, (strange for a outdoorsy country guy like myself) until I visited Gettysburg a couple years ago. We were touring the battlefield, and I noticed this lone monument out in this grassy field off to the side. I wanted to go check it out, so I did. Later on sitting on a bench, I noticed FOUR ticks on me....AH! I used a rather unique way to remove them haha, I grabbed the gum out my mouth suck it on one and ripped them out, I did this to the next three as well. pahaha, probably not the recommended way of tick removal, but it worked =P.

My dad and brother had a tick each as well. Though theirs did not establish themselves like mine lol. Apparently the ticks didn't like my mom or sister....

"Gee, my gum is now kinda crunchy."

[Dr Freezelove]

We took the kids out Sunday for about 30 minutes and pulled 10 ticks off. Later that night I had two in my back. We live next door to Lyme, CT where the disease got its name. It is certainly going to be bad I've had ticks all winter. But to be sure the scariest thing I ever had I caught in Kansas was CHIGGERS I'll take all the ticks you can keep the CHIGGERS.

[AstroD-Team]

I have been diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease (acquired most likey in Missouri, Kansas or Oklahoma - it was a cache at the tri-state border marker where I got the tick) last summer. I shouldn't be too worried about the ticks as I don't think I can get much worse than I already am. Ok, I do worry about me but not as much as I worry about my son and hubby and everyone else out there getting this dreaded disease. No one should ever suffer from Lyme. Be safe out there folks. Deet and Permethrin up and do regular and diligent tick checks on yourselves and your loved ones. And make sure you if you are in tick infested areas you at least walk out with a smiley and not a DNF.

This post has been edited by AstroD-Team: 22 March 2012 - 05:25 PM

[2hypergirls]

Last Saturday we went out to find a geocache that I wanted to find. Before leaving I sprayed Deep Woods Off on me and the girls. My husband didn't listen to me and left home without spraying. I checked myself and the girls and we were tick free. However the next morning my hubs found a tick embeded on his leg. Twizzers were plastic ones that were broken in one of our earlier finds. Oops. I had read somewhere that Tea Tree Oil makes them backout. Luckily I had some, but it killed it and it didn't blackout. We were able to use the broken twizzers to get it out.

[JangoCatt]

Seed ticks are the worst this time of year. We went out a couple of weekends ago and I had a couple of me that night. We had noticed a dark spot on my three year olds eye lid when she went to bed that night, but didn't think anything about it since she often marks herself with markers and pens. The next morning, I woke up and it hit me that it could have been a tick. Sure enough, I went and checked and she had a seed tick attached to her lower eyelid. Let me tell you - pulling a tick off a three year old's eyelid with tweasers is no easy task!

[Lieblweb]

ocklawahaboy, on 21 March 2012 - 10:21 AM, said:

Can I pretreat my hamster with this stuff? It's about that time.

Wha?? What's your hamster doing outside?

Yeah, don't you wish you could take a bath in that stuff sometimes?

There should be some scientists somewhere trying to find a medication that we can take that will keep the ticks off us - kinda like Advantix for humans!!

This post has been edited by Lieblweb: 23 March 2012 - 06:47 AM

[DragonsWest]

Lieblweb, on 23 March 2012 - 06:41 AM, said:

ocklawahaboy, on 21 March 2012 - 10:21 AM, said:

Can I pretreat my hamster with this stuff? It's about that time.

Wha?? What's your hamster doing outside?

Yeah, don't you wish you could take a bath in that stuff sometimes?

There should be some scientists somewhere trying to find a medication that we can take that will keep the ticks off us - kinda like Advantix for humans!!

Dress for it - long pants, smooth fabric, like nylon is ideal. Wear gaiters if you've got them, keep entry points tucked in and closed off. Long sleeve shirts. Leave fuzzy fabrics at home.

Frequent tick-checks, particularly after a trek through the long grass or among brush.

Haven't used any Off or Deet or anything. About once every two years I do find a tick on me, but I've passed by lots of them and caught many on my clothing looking for a way in.

[Trinity's Crew]

My goodness. Everyone here has missed the most obvious answer. Confine your cache trips to Wal-Mart parking lots, guardrails, and Cracker Barrels! Geez!

[Davequal]

Trinity, on 23 March 2012 - 02:18 PM, said:

My goodness. Everyone here has missed the most obvious answer. Confine your cache trips to Wal-Mart parking lots, guardrails, and Cracker Barrels! Geez!

You forgot the fast food chains and donut shops.....

This post has been edited by Davequal: 23 March 2012 - 02:36 PM

[Glenn]

Lieblweb, on 23 March 2012 - 06:41 AM, said:

ocklawahaboy, on 21 March 2012 - 10:21 AM, said:

Can I pretreat my hamster with this stuff? It's about that time.

Wha?? What's your hamster doing outside?

They are a trade item. What else would a cacher do with a hamster?

This post has been edited by Glenn: 23 March 2012 - 04:19 PM

[NYPaddleCacher]

Davequal, on 23 March 2012 - 02:36 PM, said:

Trinity, on 23 March 2012 - 02:18 PM, said:

My goodness. Everyone here has missed the most obvious answer. Confine your cache trips to Wal-Mart parking lots, guardrails, and Cracker Barrels! Geez!

You forgot the fast food chains and donut shops.....

I'd rather deal with the ticks.

[Triumph61]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful suggestions!!! We took the dogs to the vet...one of them wasn't up to date on his shots. We also took the dogs to a professional groomer who told us to give them regular baths using Dawn dishsoap. Lather the dog's entire body, including his feet, and let set for 5-10 minutes. Seemed to work well since we couldn't get them in for grooming until 2 days after we called and we didn't find any additional ticks on them. As for us humans, we performed regular tick checks all week and seem to be tick free. We stripped and washed/dried all the bedding and put all the stuffed animals/pillows in the dryer for 30-45 minutes.

As for future caching...we will be purchasing permethrin and using it on our clothing. In addition, I think we will try the Coleman brand of extreme insect repellant. Oh, and we are going to leave the dogs at home...lol! Thanks again for ALL the help as I feel so much more educated about taking my family into the woods where there are TICKS! Thanks again!

[BigChiefS4]

I have 4 sets of ACU's that were treated with permethrin. They have a slight pink tint to them. I think I'm gonna start wearing them when I'm out geocaching.

[Chief301]

I've bushwacked to quite a few caches here in SE Louisiana, used to hunt and camp a bit years ago, and I have to say I've NEVER encountered a problem with ticks. I guess they're just not that common around here. I learned about them the hard way last summer when we took a family vacation to Hot Springs Arkansas. Did a little caching while I was there and discovered just how bad the tick problem is in other parts of the country. We didn't really even go IN the woods, just grabbed a couple of caches that were right at the edge of the woods or in the tall grass, and we picked up a bunch of the little critters.

I usually wear long pants when I'm caching, mainly for briars and such, but I wasn't wearing them that day...I guess it would have helped some.

[Davequal]

NYPaddleCacher, on 24 March 2012 - 05:31 AM, said:

Davequal, on 23 March 2012 - 02:36 PM, said:

Trinity, on 23 March 2012 - 02:18 PM, said:

My goodness. Everyone here has missed the most obvious answer. Confine your cache trips to Wal-Mart parking lots, guardrails, and Cracker Barrels! Geez!

You forgot the fast food chains and donut shops.....

I'd rather deal with the ticks.

Proud to say I am parking lot free this weekend...... AND TICK FREE..... 7/8 caches..... 8th one need to be dealt with.....

[Team Empty Planet]

Got absolutely loaded with ticks while caching up here in MA last Oct/Nov. Never really had a problem with them before that. We find keeping a lint roller on hand does a good job of removing the little buggers from our clothes before they can find a way to bite us or set up shop in the car.

[DragonsWest]

Expected major Tickage on my Saturday hike. Oddly only found 1 tick on my trousers, despite some considerable off-trail hides. Flicked that little bugger and moved on. Maybe it'll be a bad tick year in another couple weeks?

[Corp Of Discovery]

Ticks are everywhere this year, I see log after log mentioning them.