Long trousers?

[BeeMaa]

I very rarely wear shorts and never for hunting regardless of the weather. I normally wear Carhartt B151 which are a loose fit canvas utility pant in 7.5 oz weight during the summer. They are 100% cotton and resist thorns pretty well. They can be heavy if wet or soaked with sweat which is why I have recently bought 2 sets of KUIU Tiburon pants for the warmer weather, thorns be dammed. If they get beat up with pulls from thorns, I'll call it damaged in use and continue to wear them to failure.

This is a perfect picture of the contrast of the two pants taken at the SCI convention. I'm wearing the KUIU and my wife is wearing some well worn in Carhartt B151's.

As for gaiters or puttees, I have a set of KUIU Yukon gaiters and use them situationally...only as needed because they add weight and it's one more thing to pack. Useful for wet wether and keeping snow off of my lower pants, but for not so good hot weather IMO. For ticks I soak my hunting clothes in permethrin before traveling.

 

[Trail Rated]

Pants can be hot enough to smother you, though

I haven’t hunted Africa yet, but about 95% of my hunting has been in Texas, and yes, long pants are hot. Tall snake boots or snake gaiters also are hot, so much so that I get a prickly heat rash on my shins and calves. But I always wear long pants and gaiters because heat rash is much better than what snakes, ticks, chiggers, thorns and cacti would do.

 

[Berettaco]

Been on two trips to South Africa - March and September. The March trip was rainy but I still wore pants. So many dang ticks…. Before my trip I treat my pants and shirts with permethrin and then wipe/spray bug spray on the bottom of my pants, waistline/belt every morning of hunting. Yes, on occasion I’d get hung up in thorns - depending on the situation I’d stop and untangle. If we were stalking something I’d just keep pushing on - yes pants get ripped, all cost of doing business I suppose.
no shorts for me - tick fever is not something I want to experience (let alone ticks on the undercarriage)

 

[Berettaco]

Forgot to mention I took the Off Bug Repellent wipes with me and would wipe down my legs and entire upper body every morning before getting dressed - not one of them little buggers got me…

 

[BeeMaa]

@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.

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.

 

[Happy Myles]

I stopped taking shorts years ago. Using only long trousers makes packing simpler . I wear one pair on plane, one pair in my carry on, and one in my single checked bag. All in washed khaki green. Same goes for shirts. All treated with Permethrin. Makes things less complicated. These days most of my hunting seem to occur in serious Tsetse fly county where the Fly attack can be indescribably fierce. Also spray daily with DEET or an equivalent doe not not stop them but slows them down. Interestingly, i still have Willis and Geiger brand clothes made of medium weight Egyptian cotton. I purchased a life time supply before they went out of business. I toss in a pair of eight inch gaiters to keep the fly from crawling up my pants legs. For leaches I use Duct tape.. I am 84 so my safari endings are in sight. I cannot complain have been fortunate to hunt all over Africa more than a lot for fifty years.

 

[Rare Breed]

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

Curious is there a tick season in Zim or SA? In the states we only have ticks bad May-July

 

[Doug3006]

Is permethrin effective on pepper ticks?

 

[Rare Breed]

Haha...yip...only problem is the only way to get them off is a very sharp blade and scrape them off or poison....taking the proximity into account I prefer the latter....

What poison do you use please?

 

[VertigoBE]

Shorts for me. I prefer the ventilation in the hot weather.
I just don’t let my mind wonder towards ticks. And I wear under armour skin tight boxers underneath. Very effective combination.

Then leather gaiters on top of my Courteney Selous.

 

[BeeMaa]

Is permethrin effective on pepper ticks?

Having not tried it specifically on pepper ticks, I'm not sure. Both my wife and I used it on our clothing or a trip to SA without a single tick latching on despite seeing several while in the bush.

What I do know is that every day I come back after hunting deer/turkey in the Virginia woods tick free. I've seen them land on my drop cloth (from low branches and tall grass) only to roll over and die almost immediately. In the evening I'll enjoy some time by the fire and sip whiskey while my friends (who didn't treat their clothes or gear) are busy picking them off their plumbs and starfish. Not kidding and not fun for them. An ounce of prevention...

Lyme disease is real and I really don't want it.

 

[Doug3006]

Thanks BeeMaa. I’ll bring some when I go to Limpopo in June.

 

[Happy Myles]

Thanks BeeMaa. I’ll bring some when I go to Limpopo in June.

Treat your clothes with Permethrin before you leave. It will last several washings

 

[Art Lambart II]

I've only hunted South Africa in July and August so I have no real experience with the African heat. What did bother me was the sun, my sunbathing days are long gone and my white legs will get burnt alot faster than they use to. Not to mention thats way to much white to be walking thru the bush, so its long pants for me. I do pack a pair of hunting approprate shorts with me but I only wear then around camp.

 

[BourbonTrail]

After hunting in briar patches my whole life plus living in southern AZ for 15 years, I can’t really abide the shorts thing. I’ve learned to deal with heavy “trousers” and hot weather. In Africa, I was happy with my Duluth Fire Hose “trousers.” I didn’t have any issues in the Kalahari with any of the thorns as they are very mild in comparison to AZ. Cholla cacti on the other hand can punch through snake gaiters/chaps with ease (cry a bit thorns ).

From the web:

I only like shorts in high humidity or rainy weather.

 

[meigsbucks]

I prefer shorts, but have worn long pants during cooler days. Pants, shirts, gaiters and socks were well treated with Permethein prior to departure. I also wore insect repellent. No ticks.
I must admit that when wearing shorts, my legs look like a scratching post for a lion but we’re still more comfortable.

 

[Rubberhead]

I hunt mostly in the Southeast US. I wear long pants because of the same things, ticks and brambles. I fold the front of the leg over tight then lash it down with ankle gaiters. I normally then put on rubber knee boots over that - I'm tick proof and the heavy canvas cotton turns most briars.

 

[baxterb]

Is permethrin effective on pepper ticks?

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.

 

[JimP]

After hunting in briar patches my whole life plus living in southern AZ for 15 years, I can’t really abide the shorts thing. I’ve learned to deal with heavy “trousers” and hot weather. In Africa, I was happy with my Duluth Fire Hose “trousers.” I didn’t have any issues in the Kalahari with any of the thorns as they are very mild in comparison to AZ. Cholla cacti on the other hand can punch through snake gaiters/chaps with ease (cry a bit thorns ).

From the web:
View attachment 521937

I only like shorts in high humidity or rainy weather.

And what a lot don't realize is that the cholla will stay with you along with walking up your leg as you go.

 

[MTA]

Are ticks a big problem in the eastern cape of SA in may?