posted
If you have been in a tick infested area can you "just" wash the ticks out of your clothes? I know they are hard to kill but wondered if I could feel confident that they are gone from the clothes after washing and drying and will not resurface in the house later. Thanks.
--Judy
Posts: 67 | From Maryland | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
I have my son who works in landscaping put his clothes in the DRYER first for 20 min. on high to kill the ticks. Then I have him wash the clothes.
Since the washer won't kill ticks, I don't want any loose ones in there to bite ME!
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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You CAN NOT wash them out.....but heat will kill them. I always heard 30 minutes was the magic number - guess it depends on how hot your dryer gets also.
Anyway, zap the livin crap out of them!!!
Gail
-------------------- Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will ~ Gandhi Posts: 562 | From Wellsville, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2004
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
hi ladies,
sorry to be a wet blanket here; and i just spent 15 minutes trying to find other links discussing this subject without finding the ONE i wanted.
but i'm sure i read here that NEITHER USING DRYER FIRST, WASHING THEM 2ND, AND DRYING THEM 3RD .... DOES NOT kill them all!
think it may have been in a pub med; try checking treepatrol's links for this valuable info ok!
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posted
Had saved this-not what any of us want to read/believe though
Ticks Don't Come Out in the Wash
By _Ann Perry_ (http://www.ars. usda.gov/ is/contacts. htm#Ann) October 5, 2007
Before venturing into tick-infested territory, you used a topical repellant on exposed skin and outer clothing.
When you returned, you did a body check and threw your clothes in the wash. But clean clothes may not be tick-free clothes.
When he found a live lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) on the agitator of his washing machine, Agricultural Research Service entomologist John Carroll decided to find out how tough ticks are.
So he bagged up nymphs from two species--the lone star tick and the deer tick, (Ixodes scapularis), the creature that transmits Lyme disease--and put them in the washing machine.
Carroll used a combination of water temperature settings and detergent types to wash the ticks.
The majority of lone star ticks survived all the water-detergent combinations with no obvious side effects.
Most of the deer ticks lived through the cold and warm water settings as well. But when one type of detergent was used with a hot water setting, only 25 percent of the deer ticks survived.
When it came time to dry, all the ticks of both species died after an hour of tumbling around at high heat.
But when the dryer was set to "no heat," about one-third of the deer ticks and more than half of the lone star ticks survived.
Carroll placed the ticks in mesh bags, which kept them from draining away during the rinse cycle and perhaps increased their odds for survival.
However, ticks might also survive a sudsy interlude by sheltering in the folds and crevices of a typical load of laundry.
Some tick species have been observed to survive hours of submersion in fresh water. Both adult ticks and nymphs can transmit disease.
Carroll's research reinforces recommendations by the _U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention_(http://www.cdc. gov/) to wash and dry clothes at high temperatures after spending time in areas known to harbor ticks.
Carroll conducts research at the _ARS Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory_ (http://www.ars. usda.gov/ main/site_ main.htm?
Posts: 249 | From finger lakes, ny | Registered: Jul 2006
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When it came time to dry, all the ticks of both species died after an hour of tumbling around at high heat.
Betty: if you ever find that article you are talking about please post. I find it hard to believe that high heat wouldn't kill ANY THING AFTER AN HOUR!!!
P.S. most ILADS docs and lyme advocates are presenting that dryers first on clothes is the way to go before washing.
Gail
-------------------- Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will ~ Gandhi Posts: 562 | From Wellsville, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
Thanks for the information. I have a hard time with putting dirty clothes in a dryer first. What if there is lots of dirt or oils from poison ivy on these clothes? Then the next clean clothes to go in the dryer won't be so clean after drying.
My oldest son is working at a camp this summer and I am wondering how he should clean his clothes and bedding after living in the woods for 2 months.
Can you bag clothes for a period of time to kill the ticks like they do for lice? How long can a tick live without a host?
Thanks again.
--Judy
Posts: 67 | From Maryland | Registered: Jun 2003
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