I have found a nice network of single track trails by Clearwater Bay just south of Lake Thunderbird in Oklahoma. The problem is that after my last MUni ride there I was covered in ticks as was my riding buddy Doug. Anyone have any ideas about how to protect against Ticks?
By the way if there are any other unicyclists in Oklahoma that would like to meet up for a MUni ride or Trials sesson please email me at akover@gmail.com,
Same goes for anyone that is learning and would like to meet up for some tips and pointers.
I’m not a big fan of DEET, especially after spending a week paddling in the Apostle Islands seeing people with DEET eaten alive by blackflies. I used Lemon Eucalyptus oil, and didn’t have a single bite. Since then it has been my bug dope of choice. Also, it doesn’t dissolve your synthetic material (hint: leg protection is synthetic material).
The brand that I’ve been using is “Repel, lemon eucalyptus”. Keep in mind that Repel also sells plenty of DEET, so get the right stuff. And, this is the only non-DEET bug dope that is recommended by the CDC against West Nile disease. So, it’s good stuff.
Just sold a kayak to a guy from Maine. While talking, tons of mosquitos buzzed. He took out some Lewey’s he got at LL Bean. Seemed to work. Don’t know if it would work on ticks, but it had no DEET.
To my knowledge, DEET on skin and Permetherin on clothes are the only scientifically proven effective tick repellents on the market. The CDC has lots or info on their website; here’s a pretty neutral article from Mother Jones:
According to the CDC they list DEET and Lemon Eucalyptus repellents as being acceptable.
Also, Consumer Reports had a study done on different repellents and also found Lemon Eucalyptus Repel to be comparable to DEET in agreement with CDC. This study used deer ticks in particular.
I don’t make any claims about health safety as mentioned in the MoJo article, but DEET certainly dissolves plastic. As someone who has invested a lot of money in plastic (climbing ropes…) I was looking for something effective that was kind to my gear.
After seeing my friends get eaten alive while wearing DEET I am convinced that the dope I was using was more effective. It may be that the concentration in the Repel was higher than the DEET concentration they were using, but nonetheless it worked.
Permethrin is supposed to be the best tick protection hands down. I’ve picked up all the tick born diseases that exist in North Carolina but none since I started spraying my clothing with Permethrin several years ago. This is what the military uses for tick protection. It is considered safer that Deet since you don’t apply it to your skin. You apply it to your clothing and then let the clothes air dry. Futhermore, any permethrin that rubs off on your skin is quickly broken down by the natural oils on your skin.
Be careful using permethrin around cats they are very sensitive to it and can accumulate a toxic amount quickly.
It is toxic to aquatic life, bees and many other animals.
I’d use the lemon eucalyptus over permethrin.
I think I am going to try that Lemon Eucalyptus for the next ride or only ride those trails in the Winter. There are other trails here that don’t have vegetation along them and I have never gotten any ticks while riding them.