Try rubbing your clothes and exposed skin with Bounce, the kind with the perfume. I have also found that, when I wear wool socks, I seem to not get ticks,but that's when just walking in woods or grass, not sitting while gardening.

I'm pretty sure I couldn't stand the smell of Bounce on my clothes. I try to stay far away from scented stuff.

I already wear wool socks, although I didn't have them on yesterday when I was working at home. I work for a yard maintenance company, so there is very little sitting on an average day. Maybe I should move really fast so they can't keep up? :)

Tuck everything in...bottom of your pants, shirt, etc.

I dislike Bounce as well, but I do stick a sheet in my cap or bra strap or somewhere when I walk in woods in the summer. It really does keep bugs away.

this is the only thing that works and has NO toxicity to humans. Spray it on your socks and shoes. You will be amazed. It works 100 %. It also works against mossies spectacularly well. We used it on our tent and all our other camping gear and head nets. The mossies don't even land. Follow the directions on the bottle . It lasts unless you wash in a machine. As long as you wash out things by hand it will last about 4-5 washings. Good Luck and you won't ever have another tick on you or your clothes.

http://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Products-Permethrin-Clothing-Repellent/dp/B00MA950E0

I don't think anything works. We've battled with this for years, we have terrible ticks in our house in PA. I've tried many different kinds of tick sprays to no avail.

I would recommend you get some Ledum. My dog Bailey tested positive for lyme (asymptomatic) several years ago, despite the fact we use chemical tick treatments on the dogs. He did a course of antibiotics and still had lyme. He then did 2 courses of ledum (given to me by a vet who does both homeopathic and western medicine) and no more positive lyme test!

There is a regiment you can use if you notice a tick has bitten and we did it last year several times after finding ticks that had sucked in. Dogs just had a lyme test and were negative and we also took it and had no problems.

I have definitely been bitten, three yesterday (a new personal record). Lyme disease is not a big concern in our area, but I don't like to be perforated by any creature if I can help it.

I don't mind spraying smelly things on my boots, socks and pant legs, so maybe a Bounce sheet inside my socks would help. Otherwise, I'll look into the link that trailrunner posted.

Keep those suggestions coming!

Beagles - what symptoms did Bailey exhibit? So far we've been lucky with our black Lab and haven't noticed any ticks on her. We have to run our hands through her coat to find them since they're impossible to see. We give her the Flea and Tick medicine but we do take her with us when we go to our vacation home in upstate PA on 135 acres of forest - DH calls it Tick City.

When we go out in the woods we spray our clothing with Deep Woods Off and it seems to help - but you still have to do a body check.

There is a current post on the Kitchen Table about ticks and Alisande posted a link to a site where you can mail your tick to have it tested. I don't know anything about the group.

http://www.bayarealyme.org/lyme-disease-prevention/tick-testing/

Consumer Reports tested insect repellents recently and the top two didn't contain DEET: Sawyers Fisherman's Formula and Repel Lemon Eucalyptus.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/health/beauty-personal-care/insect-repellent/insect-repellent-ratings/ratings-overview.htm

You can now get a collar for dogs that is like "Frontline" and "Advantix" but which works continuously for eight months, if the dog doesn't go into water,and six months if it does. No need to do the monthly squirt thing, and it's safe for humans.

Ask your vet.

maire_cate, Bailey was totally asymptomatic. We have them tested annually for lyme and other tick borne diseases or we would never have known he had lyme.

He had a mild positive on the test over a period of 2 years (because the antibiotics didn't work the first year) before we got rid of it w/ the ledum.

We actually debated on whether to treat before we discovered the ledum because some dogs can be seropositive for lyme without ever becoming symptomatic . This is why we didn't have him a 2nd course of antibiotics. The ledum doesn't have the negative side effects of the powerful antibiotic, so we did that b/c there was no risk to him.

Mercola has some good info about lyme in dogs: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/08/10/the-feared-canine-disease-thats-mostly-benign.aspx

Tibbrix - are you referring to the Seresto flea and tick collar?

I didn't know the name...learned about it from a veterinarian daughter of a friend. But it does appear to be the Seresto.

Thanks for the input. I have ordered a couple of Sawyer products from Amazon.

Thank you Trailrunner, I just ordered it for my husband, he's had Lyme disease four times so far. We abut the woods and lots of deer around plus many other adorable critters.

Beagles - thanks for the link to the study - interesting that they conducted it on beagles. Our vet doesn't routinely test for tick borne diseases but I'll ask him next week when I take Maggie in for her canine influenza booster.

And speaking of beagles.........We placed a conversation easement on our mountain property with Natural Lands Trust and every year they send one of their Nature Preserve Managers to inspect the property to verify compliance with their regulations. They want to make sure we haven't clear cut the forest or turned it into a hazardous waste dump. This year our Conservationist brought his one year old beagle puppy to walk the property. Oh my, what a sweetheart! We're a family of dog lovers and as we get older we're slowly working our way down to smaller breeds - we started with German Shepherds and now we're down to a 70 pound lab. Our next dog will be even smaller and I fell in love with Riley, the beagle. I could easily see have one or two inner family.

Maire

You are welcome. The permethrin is a synthetic but it mimics the original plant which is a chrysanthemum . All of the research plus the reports from those who have used it are positive. Keep us posted...it is worth it not to get a deadly disease !! Good Luck. Also we set up the tent and put all the clothes and shoes outside ,hung the clothes from the low tree branches, and sprayed till saturated as directed and let them air dry thoroughly. c

maire_cate if ticks aren't a problem in your primary home state (where I'm assuming your vet is), that's probably why they don't routinely test. Our vets in both NY and PA always tested but my dogs had their annual checkup w/ the FL vet this year and I had to specifically ask for the test. It took them a while to call around and figure out what test specifically to do. There are two different tests, one is much cheaper than the other but is more comprehensive and tests for all possible tick problems. I think the less comprehensive one was like $40 and the more detailed one was like $150. We had them do the full workup on our two because I knew for a fact they'd had ticks bitten in despite the use of preventatives.

You'd love a beagle! But just FYI, they're extremely difficult to train and some things I truly don't believe they are trainable on (like not barking at lizards). But they're so lovable and cuddly and snuggly and funny and sweet!

We used to live in Bucks County but now we're in NJ. We're still in the Metro Philly area but definitely in the land of manicured lawns and now that our Lab is older she's not interested in long walks through the park. Even when we take her to Tick City in Pike County she stays close to the house.

We've had our share of "independent thinkers" - 4 Rottweilers for starters, and have worked with a retired Police Officer who trains dogs for the military and service. After 35 years of large breeds we're downsizing and I definitely want "lovable, cuddly, & snuggly" - DH's only comment is that he wants a dog that looks like a dog, not an accoutrement. And less hair is a real plus.

Maire

A beagle will be easy then :)

Ooh, just saw the permethrin suggestion. I use this sometimes when staying in pilgrim gites and albergues (bedbugs), but please be aware that it is VERY toxic to cats while it's wet, and not so great for dogs till it dries, either.

I also use Sawyers. I can buy it locally at REI.