Question from the curious

[Malhavoc's]

On a recent hiking adventure with my Girlfriend to collect new species etc, we began unwittingly brought home a stow-away, of the unwanted kind. in this case, a common dog tick, now neither of us very intrested in this arthropod, but intrested in the others began to wonder, Mind you I come from a wooded area growing up as does she but neither of us have encountered ticks before, what is the best method to avoid getting latched onto by these little guys? I was thinking repellent however wouldnt it be harmful to the other critters we do collect?

 

[What]

Something along the lines of this sprayed at the ankles and waist of pants a few minutes before you put them on should help stem the endless flow of them. The key ingredient to look for is Permethrin. I also would suggest tucking your pants into your socks, if in an especially bad area.

Personally, I just wait until I am home, first thing I do is disrobe in the bathroom in front of the mirror, check myself for ticks all over, put on new clothes, and place the others outside hanging up. If you have accumulated any ticks on your person they shouldnt be too hard to find, on clothes, they generally wander off within a couple hours but might show up in your washer too.

 

[The Snark]

I would add a couple of tidbits. Use fine oil, glycerin or alcohol to remove ticks. Coat their body. Burn removed ticks with a lighter or match to kill the babies and eggs they may be carrying. Lastly, be aware of Limes disease if you live in a tick infested area.

 

[SandDeku]

I got bit by a tick yesterday. A dog tick to be precise, I'ved got bit once a long time ago by a tick. But couldn't ID it. I kept the tick I found yesterday on my head. It was still latched on to me. I guess it must have been sucking on my blood because I pretty much "popped" it off. I didn't even do it purposely. It just "popped" off when I squished it. luckily it was still intact. So I took it--- and grabbed a cup of boiling hot water dropped the lil vermin in there and well it changed dark jet black. Then I left it there for 10mins. Drained the water out. Cooled it off and repeated. Then I took a spare test tube and cleaned it with some hydrogen peroxide. Then took the peroxide out. Poured rubbing alcohol in it(filled to the very top) and dropped the vermin in there. That should keep it preserved.
I am currently doing this for a leech that latched onto me. I may just start a small parasite collection(Buying it online--should I find them preserved).

I say this in case you wanted to preserve it for some reason. I preserved mine-- because I actually like ticks. lol Weird and stupid as it sounds. Not when on me. But they themselves fascinate me. Just hope I don't really stumble across anymore---- except on a preserved test tube/jar.

 

[Malhavoc's]

Something along the lines of this sprayed at the ankles and waist of pants a few minutes before you put them on should help stem the endless flow of them. The key ingredient to look for is Permethrin. I also would suggest tucking your pants into your socks, if in an especially bad area.

Personally, I just wait until I am home, first thing I do is disrobe in the bathroom in front of the mirror, check myself for ticks all over, put on new clothes, and place the others outside hanging up. If you have accumulated any ticks on your person they shouldnt be too hard to find, on clothes, they generally wander off within a couple hours but might show up in your washer too.

The one we found I suspect was in a shoe! wanted to highlight this so people dont miss it, I am thinking having specific hiking clothing kept in a nice little rubbermaid till wash day should work well. Thanks!