I have used Deep Woods OFF and it works but I only spray it on my clothing not on skin or hair.
Also friend of mine who used to work for MetroNorth RR said that the flea and tick collars for dogs will work somewhat if worn as an ankle bracelet (so chic!) but over your clothes (pants, sox) not against your skin.

I second what tomtuxman said, about spraying repellent on clothing only. I once had a small bottle of insect spray leak on my camera in a backpack pocket they were sharing. The plastic on the camera was completely MELTED.

I'm kinda tempted to put the dogs frontline on.lol just kidding.
My son got lyme last year and got the most disgusting yellow patch with a red ring around it on his leg. He tried to convince me it was ring worm from the wresting mats but thank goodness I took him to the doctor instead. It cleared right up after 2wks of medication that made him sick as a dog. He's fine. But what a scare! I hate ticks!!!
I'm keeping my lawn mowed short so the birds can get them.

:) Laura

I don't know if a short-mowed lawn will discourage ticks, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I use the FrontLine Plus on all my kitties and their fur is clean as a whistle. One of my older cats, a longhair, used to be a tick magnet, but thankfully no more.

The only good thing about ticks is that country western song, I'd like to check you for ticks, LOL.

I heard chickens and guinea hens will really eat them up.
I am working on my wife to let me get some. I am actually waiting for my lyme test results to come in . I hate ticks.

The only place I've worked (garden landscaping in Roundout Valley, New Paltz and Woodstock etc.) was at a property near Gardiner...three deer ticks on the back of my leg...The property owners are weekenders who have 2 large dogs who crap on the lawn near where we worked. Two other people on the crew have found ticks on themselves in other places when I did not. They both have dogs. I firmly believe that ticks are attracted to the scent of DOGS! And if you have dogs, you should be extra careful about ticks. Just another reason I don't like dogs.

I don't think ticks are more attracted to dogs than to any other large mammal. We have no dogs, and we get plenty of ticks, because we have a lot of deer. There is a direct correlation between deer population density and deer tick population.

I had a tick infestation from 8 bags of cedar mulch I bought at a big box store. They were crawling up my arm as I was spreading it! They were dog ticks. It took weeks for them to disperse. I had ticks on me everyday. yuck! They gave me my money back.

My defense is to wear pants tucked into socks and shirt tucked into pants. I remove all of it at once and take a shower before I sit on any furniture in the house. Clothes get checked for ticks and then go directly to the laundry. Better safe than sorry. I'd rather take showers and do more laundry than have Lyme disease! It's a horrible illness!

Be well.

Just sitting here at my computer and found a dog tick walking around on my neck. Then I remembered I had stopped to talk to my neighbor while she walked her 2 greyhounds and of course I petted them and they're 'leaners,' but that's not what I wanted to say.

I'm 2/3 through with a course of antibiotics because of a tick bite I got. As I mentioned above, I do landscape gardening. I know I got the tick bite on another property, this time in Stone Ridge, also the property of weekenders who have two large dogs who crap everywhere on the property. Another crew member had taken off 2 ticks, one dog, one small.

I'm totally certain the tick was only on my leg for a few hours. I noticed it because I felt a burning sensation and noticed a half dollar size red spot which was slightly raised and quite painful. When I put my glasses on and looked at it, I noticed the tiny black spot at one side of the red area. As soon as I removed the tick (embedded, so I had to use a sterilized needle) the swelling began to reduce. I honestly can't be certain it was a deer tick since I removed it in pieces but it was the same size as a deer tick. The next day, I visited my Dr's office and started the antibiotic.

Everything I read says an embedded tick needs 24-48 hrs to transmit the Lyme Disease. Since I've had maybe 7 deer tick bites (my usual response is an intensely itchy mosquito size bite) and this bite was totally different, I chose to follow the cautious route and take the antibiotic.

Since then, I've heard of several people who got PAINFUL tick bites. Has anyone else had this response to a tick bite? I've heard rumors of another kind of tick moving in to our area and wonder about this.

Incidentally, Jayco, the deer mouse is much more important to deer ticks than deer are. White tail deer are one of the hosts but the don't spread Lyme Disease. On the other hand, DEER MICE carry Lyme Disease and will transmit it to humans through deer ticks.

I live north of Albany, there are no dogs and cats on my property, no deer in our neighborhood, and I never had a tick bite. Though I had a large tick once on my body, but no bite. I garden on my 1/2 acre property, but since I have a lot of hostas, and voles destroy hostas, I usually provide all mouse/vole holes with poison pellets, so also none of those to carry ticks. Every 1-2 months I spray my small property with an insecticides, again to help the hostas, to fight slugs and leaf nematodes, and to prevent any insects on my dwarf conifers. On warm days I usually spray myself with an insect repellent, such as DeepWoods. So far I am lucky, no tick bites yet!