By Bill Kleiman

The black flies of the Simuliidea emerged this week and congregate in the woods, especially areas with low wind. They will be a nuisance for a few weeks. And ticks are occasional. Mosquitos will be here soon. I thought I would share a few tips to deal with pests.

The bug net worked very well today. I forgot I had it on and could do all I wanted in the woods. The little pouch it comes in I hang from a carabiner off my pack or belt loop. The insect shield means it was dipped in permethrin pesticide at the factory, but I am not sure that was needed.

Permethin on the left by Sawyer is a pesticide you spray on clothing to ward off ticks and chiggers. Permethin is a synthetic version of a natural pesticide found in chrysanthemums. I see a one gallon of permethin for clothing by Insect Guard for $58.

On the right is Picaridin, which is what you put on your skin for mosquitos and such. It is not an insecticide but an effective insect repellent. Picaridin is nice in that it does not stink like DEET, nor does it melt or discolor plastic items like sunglasses and clothing. It is a lotion you rub on your skin. It works well. DEET is also a repellent, not an insecticide.

Treating all the clothing you wear in the field with permethrin is your best defense against tick diseases, bar none! Socks, underwear, hats, shirts, pants, boots. Permethin is expensive but worth it.

To treat clothes with permethrin I lay out my clothes to treat and wear a glove while spraying. You don’t want the water based solvent on your skin. I don’t know what is in that solvent but don’t get it on your skin.

You do a heavy spray on the clothes and let them dry for several hours and then they can be worn safely. This will repel ticks and chiggers and lasts for many washings. I spray mine maybe twice a season. I lay items like socks, underwear, hats, on top of bigger items like pants or shirts so I don’t wasted the expensive spray.

You can also send clothing items to a company, Insect Sheild, and they will dip them in a vat of permethrin and this apparently works well. I have heard from folks who did this and thought it worked great. Do this!

The permethin that is sprayed on livestock is an oil-based mix that you likely don’t want on your clothing.

On the right is a tick & chigger gator. It has permethrin on it too. I rarely wear these as we don’t have many ticks or chiggers at Nachusa, and they are too tight on my calves. There are other versions out that that are more of a snap around gator with permethin in it. You can tuck your pants in your socks, which I do at times, but the seeds stick to my socks.

Don’t let the pests keep you inside.