Long trousers?

[Kevin Peacocke]

Kevin, by chance, did you happen to know Denis Paul. He and his wife (Cindy?) operated Shumba Shaba before he passed away. I recall he also had at least one other business, Paul's Pest Service(?), in Bulawayo.

My apologies for the tangent but I keep intending to ask you about him and then don't.

Unfortunately I did not know him Marc. I'll ask if my buddy knew he and Cindy, he knows everyone.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I'm

Livsin Flex canvas pants. The absolute best pants for active movement ever. And they are pretty straight legged.

Pepper ticks suck, had a bad case last trip to Zim. Hard to beat the comfort of shorts though. I can't imagine having pepper tick bites on my ballsack.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

@Trail Rated - Permethrin concentrate (diluted to 0.5%) will help you with the chiggers and ticks. But sadly not so much on the snakes and cacti.
View attachment 521934
I soak my clothes and gear in a plastic bag filled with this overnight, then hang dry in the garage (not direct sunlight) for 24 hours. Works great.

Does it disappear when washed in camp? It may be a bit too much to expect the staff to do an extra rinse with the correct dilution, etc. My solution would be to take enough clothes for a fresh change every day.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Ticks are arachnids and permethrin does a doozy on them, like spiders.

Many folks may not know that natural pyrethrum comes from chrysanthemums and was a huge crop in Kenya. Might still be as far as I know.

I didn't know that, read AH and learn.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

T

Kevin, you can buy Bayticol in SA - looking it up, I see its active ingredient is "flumethrin", which is from the same family of compounds as permethrin. It's an aerosol that you can spray your socks, gaiters and lower trouser legs with. I've found it to work well in SA - I've never tried permethrin so cannot compare.

Regarding trousers, naturally it comes down to personal preference. While I occasionally wear shorts if hunting in very warm climes, I do find that sunburn and thorn damage can be a game-changer. So mostly wear long trousers. I have a pet peeve about noisy fabrics - virtually all synthetic fabrics, no matter how fancy, are super noisy in the bush - swishing noise when walking and loud scratch noises when thorns scrape them. Soft, well worn cotton is hard to beat for stealthiness. While long trousers may catch on thorns, I find that tearing fabric is usually a lot quieter than tearing skin

I've settled on a local el cheapo brand which works great: Jonsson work wear (see the olive option - the perfect bush colour.
The trousers are lightweight, have a semi elasticated waist so very comfy, straight-leg so no flapping legs to catch everywhere, and not too bad if they get wet. I see on the label they are 65/35 polycotton - so I guess partly synthetic... but they are very quiet. The best part is they are available for R150-200 (call it $10) in most co-ops and outdoor stores!! I bought a bunch years ago with the view that I'd use them hard and ditch them, even if they lasted for just one trip. I am still using the original pairs a good 8 years on. The oldest pairs are showing a few small rips but otherwise going strong.

Thanks DZ, what sort of stores would stock Bayricol?

 

[AZDAVE]

I wear both, after a run in with pepper ticks in 2015 I have used the permethrin on the clothes. and the one thing that I have also done in high tick areas is use my dogs tick and flea shampoo on myself while in high tick areas.

@BourbonTrail the one thing about hiking and hunting here in AZ it prepares us for most any plant that can stick you.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I wear both, after a run in with pepper ticks in 2015 I have used the permethrin on the clothes. and the one thing that I have also done in high tick areas is use my dogs tick and flea shampoo on myself while in high tick areas.

@BourbonTrail the one thing about hiking and hunting here in AZ it prepares us for most any plant that can stick you.

An excellent idea, should kill any that do get onto you too. Would probably deter mosquitoes and tsetse flies too?

 

[James.Grage]

As most here, we travel with different sets of clothing to match the days hunt.

first i treat all my clothing before i depart and this has work well over the years. I find dead ticks on the clothing, so I know it works. One can search on line for products to use for this.

i take 2 kinds of gators to match up with the clothing of the day to keep the grass seeds out of my socks and shoe laces. And these can also be treated for bugs.

i have clothing that can be washed and ironed and some that cannot be washed ironed and these do not get washed or ironed.

You guessed it the items that are not washed and ironed are water repellent.

when i wear shorts, i have a good bug repellent to use for the day.

The large ticks are easy to spot it is the pepper ticks that are difficult to see and one needs to refresh your bug repellant at lunch time.

 

[degoins]

Are pepper ticks an issue in the Kalahari in June?

 

[Borderer]

Does it disappear when washed in camp? It may be a bit too much to expect the staff to do an extra rinse with the correct dilution, etc. My solution would be to take enough clothes for a fresh change every day.

The bottle I have here says it is good for 8 washes.

 

[HookMeUpII]

I'm heading to Limpopo in May for a hunt. I will only be bringing shorts for limited hanging around the camp/lodge.

I never wear shorts for hunting and even fishing. As you can see in my avatar, I am wearing jeans. To me the heat takes second to ticks, biting insects, etc. I've never been to Africa but here are a few suggestions on a budget:

These are more lightweight and not as heavy.

https://www.wrangler.com/shop/mens-wrangler-flex-waist-outdoor-cargo-pant-NW780.html?merchCategory=WRG_MEN_PANTS_CARGO&dwvar_NW780_color=112325809

EDIT:

Forgot the second suggestion.

For something tougher, Wrangler also makes an upland pant that's a little heavier for briar and thorns. They used to make it in a dual tone green and brown. Now they make it in jean and camo color.

 

[rookhawk]

If I was in Bulawayo I would definitely try arrange something to walk out with the perfect fit in the perfect boot.

That's a great way to go about things. I like to buy direct and in-country. Even if you can't get to Bulawayo, its nothing for them to send a runner to Harare or Vic Falls on your behalf.

I should also mention, what happens when you wear these boots out? I had two pairs with bald tires on them, worn out insoles, frayed shoestrings, and enough safari dust on them to plant a garden. I dropped two pairs off at the factory and left the country. A couple months later I got an invoice, two new soles, two new insoles, new shoestrings, repaired stitching, leather conditioning, full restoration, balance due: $65 USD total.

That's why I love Corteneys.

 

[BeeMaa]

Does it disappear when washed in camp? It may be a bit too much to expect the staff to do an extra rinse with the correct dilution, etc. My solution would be to take enough clothes for a fresh change every day.

It will last through several washings but effectiveness is shortened with tumble drying, ironing and being in the sun. One treatment should last 3 months without too much abuse, at least a month with sun and ironing.

This isn’t something I would trust anyone but myself to do. If you want your staff to do it, train them properly to treat the camp staff clothes. It’s not your responsibility to do this for a traveling hunter.

 

[rookhawk]

For Americans in the group, the best shorts I've found for actual safaris are the Ralph Lauren Polo cargo shorts. They retail for about $80 a pair and they come in both tall and big sizes too. I'm frugal, so I buy them at the polo outlet stores every few years for $35 a pair and I buy used like-new ones on eBay for as little as $20. The cotton is very thick and durable and they don't wear out on a safari. I get between 50 and 100 wears per pair. Super durable, pay no attention to the fact they are retailed by Polo. They also have generous belt loops big enough to hold a 1.5" belt.

 

[B0MBOY]

The problem with synthetics in Africa is ironing clothes. Cotton is a lot safer choice there. It’s really easy to burn a hole in synthetics. Pepper ticks are really something different than I’ve seen in North America. They are about size of grain of pepper and in huge numbers in some places.

Does permethrin treatment on your clothing work on pepper ticks? Or are they beyond that too?

 

[JimP]

Does permethrin treatment on your clothing work on pepper ticks? Or are they beyond that too?

It is great for pepper ticks and any other insect

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

The bottle I have here says it is good for 8 washes.

Thanks. That would be enough for a hunt trip.

 

[JimP]

If you take 2 sets of clothes to hunt it it is more than enough even with wash being done every day.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

A couple months later I got an invoice, two new soles, two new insoles, new shoestrings, repaired stitching, leather conditioning, full restoration, balance due: $65 USD total.

Holy smoke that is dirt cheap! My local boot repair place charges about $80 to $90 to re-sole my boots, and $2 per eyelet when they need replaced. Redwing does give free shoelaces to anyone wearing a pair of their boots.

 

[spike.t]

If a Wait a bit thorn or a Buffalo thorn gets hold of you you will sit right there fabric or skin....

Yeah but at least they tear through the skin easier