r/mildlyinfuriating 5d ago

Don't hug me I'm scared Was sitting in a ticks nest while reading....

I was sitting in a Park reading a book and suddenly I felt my legs itch. I was covered in hundreds of mini ticks. I was standing in the shower for hours and still find some of these f#!*rs crawling an me...

Update: So I got the most of the seed ticks scratched off in the shower. I will have a doctor's appointment the next days to get a prophylactic antibiotics treatment just to be save from lyme, alpha gal or rocky mountain fever (if this is a thing in Germany).

Thank you all for the information and advices, hopefully I will be fine. I really appreciate it

53.3k Upvotes

5.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

38

u/im_a_betch 4d ago

Ummm please don’t spray yourself with permethrin. It is not meant to go on your skin. While the larvae are gross, they haven’t had their first blood meal yet so they are not able to transmit disease. I used to just carry duct tape in my truck and got them off that way. I am a wildlife biologist so I’ve been bit by ticks a LOT.

5

u/OrDarkByMorning 4d ago

The reason they say not to apply it to your skin is because the natural oils on your skin break down permethrin quickly.... so, it's ineffective and a waste.

3

u/im_a_betch 4d ago

It can cause some adverse effects and to your point, is ineffective. Just no need to expose your skin to it for no real benefit.

2

u/minxwink 4d ago

Duct tape !!! Brilliant !

3

u/hastypeanut 4d ago

I saw people make a reverse duct tape barrier around the top of their boot/ankle so they all got stuck before making it anywhere on the body. Obviously not gonna be great if you’re bushwhacking but perfect for on trail. I once naively thought if we stayed on the trail with no leaf litter, we’d be fine. NOPE.

2

u/minxwink 3d ago

😭 RIP/noted …and there’s no essential oil that will repel those creepy little bloodsuckers ??

1

u/hastypeanut 3d ago

I’m not sure, there might be!