Killing Ticks by Freezing Them?

You should be good in 48 hours. I have had deer that were stuck in the freezer overnight and brought in half frozen that had all the ticks killed already. I think if you put them in a freezer they dont have time to go dormant because the temp. drops so far too quick for them to adjust.

 

Just a suggestion in dealing with ticks. I lay a dedicated tarp out in my shop. From WalMart, buy a spray container and a bottle of ELIMINATOR concentrated permethrin ($12-13) from the garden center. Mix it strong as per directions and mist your tarp. Every time a deer comes in, mist the deer's hair and hide with the spray. It does not effect you especially if you WEAR RUBBER GLOVES or the hide in any way. The spray will kill ticks on contact and those that don't die immediately have no place to hide. They get really "sick" very quickly.

 

If you dont want to be bothered with the bug spray I know 72 hours of hard freeze will kill them in the freezer. But the hide must be spread out and not balled up.

 

I would just put it in the freezer for an hour. Take it out and the ticks should be lethargic long enough to skin it. Then roll it up and squeeze the air out of the bag and freeze it for a week. They're dead.
Ticks won't move when cold. Keds will crawl up your arm and to your head in a flash. Ticks don't bother me. Keds do.

 

this is the first I,ve ever seen the deer keds up here in NH,I got moose in I think from VT that loaded with them, I save a couple to identify Now I had a couple deer come in with them, them little sucker are fast crawlers

 

48 hours is not long enough
Just caped one the other day that was in the freezer for 72 hours. by the time he was thawed out enough to start on the ticks were crawling.


Mason

 

I've heard that theres a country music singer that likes to check for tick's.

 

I guess I've just gotten used to them. I hate 'em, don't get me wrong, but most don't have the time (or the room) to freeze every deer before they cape it. When you are busy you just cape, tag, and bag. Just pick them off as you go. At the end of a busy day I will sweep literally hundreds and hundreds of the nasty things up off the shop floor.

I would also be cautious when using the permethrin. It's deadly on ticks, but also not good for humans either. As George stated, WEAR RUBBER GLOVES as it will soak through your skin and enter the bloodstream. If you use it on your clothing, treat then the day before and allow to completely dry before wearing them. They will repel ticks for about a week after being treated if not washed. (By the end of that week of not washing your clothes you will be repelling more than just ticks) ;D

 

No, but I heard that in College Russ got something that made him wish he had lyme disease!!!!

 

Leslie, a taxidermist in Leander came down with lyme disease and ended up in intensive care due to them not diagnosing him early on with it. He had to close up his shop and works now for another taxidermist in the panhandles. He went through hell and I don't think he'll ever be completely cured of it either. :-\

I've gotten bitten by them and had to pull them off me a few times, but so far (cross your fingers) I hadn't had anything happen.

 

Well here's hoping that you never get it Evelyn! Its an absolute shame that poor man got and advanced case of lyme. I know with lyme, early detection is key (noticing the "bullseye" shape around the bite and the rashes/etc.) I sure hope none of you ever get it :-\

 

I've had it 5 times. There are over 21 different strains of the disease and when you have aches and pains, see a doctor. Make SURE he runs the "Western Panel" blood test that covers all the strains of Lymes. If you run a "standard" panel, it only looks for 5 of those strains. Last time I saw the doctor, he told me to just call his nurse next time I noticed a problem and she'd call in a script for the antibiotic. Easily treated when found early.

 

funny michael, that was the story you told me at nationals about yourself, LMAO however i do have lyme disease, did not catch it early enough and was in the hospital for 7 days while they tried different things , finally made a diagnosis and and started treatment, since they didnt catch it early i have days when my body aches so bad i cant hardly move, other days i carry on a normal life, i pray to god each and everyone of you check for ticks on a regular basis, the one i had was in my belly button and the whole front side of my belly was reddened before i had an itch or anything, then i started getting sick and feeling week, its not a funny thing to have to deal with, Russ

 

Enjoy..They go directly to your head (hair). They are not bothered by cold like a tick is.

 

I simply dont beleive 48hrs is enough time, I just thawed out a deer yesterday that had been in the freezer 9 days and when it finally thawed I noticed ticks crawling everywhere.

 

i use a modified version of george's method - instead of a tarp i use a huge garbage bag - i fill the bag with whatever aerosal bug killer i can find and drop deer (antlers) and all into bag - make sure the bag balloons a bit - this will kill roughly 90% of the ticks in 35-45 minutes

 

And you do this with every deer that comes in?