Tickless

The good news today was that I came back from field checking with not a single tick. Last week I picked up 20 or 30 seed ticks. So I went to REI in Atlanta and bought some Sawyer clothing treatment. This has 0.5% permethrin. I followed the directions religiously, spraying my shoes (running shoes), socks (Thorlo hiking socks - seed ticks go through the weave in these like a man throuh a barn door) and my hiking pants from the knees down. I wore my pant cuffs tucked into my socks, so I looked like I did in the Army with my fatiques bloused over my boots.

It worked. I checked my ankles several times during the day and found no ticks. The terrain was the same as last weekend - pine forest with lots of weeds, perfect habitat for ticks. So far, it's a success. I suppose I'll see as the summer progresses.

Finished the area east of Flat Rock Road and north of the power line. Also checked the boundary around the smaller inholding. This is just a few acres along the road with three houses in it.

Found an old homestead. You know you have found one when the privet is so thick you can't move. Long ago the homeowner planted a privet hedge and it escaped. Now it's twenty feet tall and covers everything. Photographed several old buildings, see the photo page.

The northernmost point east of the road is an impressive stand of 20 foot tall cane - also escaped from the old house just outside the boundary. Need a fishing pole?

So now I move on, west of the road and north to the river. Now it will become a chore to walk out and back to the area I am field checking each day - there is no other road access.