Sock protectors Overboot covers

[nsok]

I see a lot of PHs and hunters wearing sock protectors / overboot covers (I think this is the name) Could anyone tell me what is the main purpose for wearing it?

 

[hunting]

Nsok we use them mainly to keep grass seeds out of our socks you can buy them or make them, my pair is about 12 years old and hand made ( by my wife ) from a very soft nylon material keep away from something hard. It will help protect those socks to use over and over. Just remember to wash them socks hahaha.
Johan

 

[nsok]

Thank you Johan. So that is the only purpose? just to keep your socks without grass seeds?

 

[kuduman]

it keeps the ticks from getting on your ankles and legs.

 

[nsok]

I thought so Kuduman. I will try it, I do not like ticks at all and if this helps just a bit, welcome

 

[Code4]

The problem is when the burrs and thorns stay 'suspended' in your socks and worm away at your skin causeing skin wounds and then infections. This is a real concern where some soils carry tetanus.

The alternative is to wear no socks so twigs etc fall flat to the bottom of your shoe. At least that is the theory.

I have short canvas 'sock keepers' but you can also buy an oilskin version that is more resistant to penetration by thorns and water. I even wear them with long pants.

 

[PaulT]

I would not be relying on spats as a total solution to ticks.

True spats only just cover the exposed portion of sock above ankle height and as previously mentioned are very good at keeping seeds and burrs from socks as well as other material from falling in your boots whilst walking.
They are not a very effective protective measure against ticks.

Ticks are often picked up at knee height or above depending on the height of the grass you are travelling through.
Ticks attach themselves as you pass by and if the grass is high enough you can pick them up at waiste height, or anywhere if you are crawling through grass stalking game.

Ticks also travel once attached to a new host.

I generally pick up one or two each season and have found the very best remedy is to check yourself thoroughly each day.

Remember that trying to remove an embedded tick can lead to dislodging the head from the body which can remain burried and lead to problems that can have you hospital bound.

In the past I have used sterilised razors to slice the embedded tick out and disinfect the area thoroughly. I realise that Doctors on this site are probably going to cringe at my "bush medicine" practices, but in a remote area it works for me (so far, anyway).

 

[Bert the Turtle]

Permethrin treated clothing is goes a long way to stopping ticks. Treated pants and shirt, pants bloused into boots and you are almost completely protected. I've only had trouble when I don't follow my own advice.

Paul, if your ticks itch half as much as ours here in North Carolina do, I can fully understand cutting them out with a razor blade. If it would prevent the itch, I'd cut them out with a bottle opener. And I'm a doctor.

 

[PaulT]

Hey Bert, thanks for the heads-up on the Permethrin.

I'll try get some for camp.

Generally ticks are only an issue for us at the very begining of the season when the grass is long, green and wet in the mornings.

I try steering clear of using too many chemicals myself, as I'm exposed to regular doses of 80%+ deet when caping animals out near water sources etc, and also I generally hunt and live in shorts almost the entire duration of my season, but it sure is handy to know what works so that i can provide it for my clients in camp.

I honestly can't say our ticks itch as I've allways (up to know, anyway) got them immediately and either simply flicked them off, before they bury in, or cut them out.

From my perspective they are the least of my problems.

I've been stung, scratched, bit, kicked and spat on by more insects and bugs that I care to name (and some I can't).
Wasps, bees, scorpions, spiders, ticks, flees etc etc.

Two years back I was bitten by an unidentified spider on the forefinger.
My hand ballooned into what looked like a rubber glove filled with water.
I was only just recovering from the bite when one day whilst fishing I hooked onto a good Barramundi and wrapped the line around the effected finger. WHOLEY SMOKES, did that hurt !
Took another two weeks to fully recover the hand.

Sorry for digressing from the thread topic.

Thanks again for the very useful advice.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

You are most welcome. The nice thing about permethrin is that it goes on your clothes, not your skin. You can search the forum, I wrote a post a few months ago that outlines what I do. I use sheep and goat dip to treat my clothes. My method works for me and is a lot less expensive than the regular stuff. Since then, I've also treated my hat brim and crown because that is where insects that get repelled from my face are going next. I painted the permethrin solution onto the parts of my hat that don't touch my forehead even though I've never noticed that the clothes do anything to skin, and permethrin is broken down by enzymes in the skin anyway which is why it doesn't work applied directly to skin, only to treat clothes.

I used to use the high concentration DEET like you do, but looked into it and discovered the it reaches maximum effectiveness at about 30%. 3M makes a product called ultrathon that is a time release DEET and what makes it better than the regular stuff is that DEET only lasts a relatively short period of time so people get bitten not because the DEET isn't working but because you really need to put the regular stuff on about every two hours. The time release lasts twelve hours.

Our tick bites itch like crazy, at least to me, and I've gotten so sensitive that they don't need to bury themselves. I got one bite in February. The weather turned warm for a day and the last thing I was expecting was ticks in the dead of winter. I went outside for a very short period of time in untreated regular clothes and when I came in I felt an itch on my waist. I found a tick with just the tips of his mouthparts in, barely started to bite. I got him off immediately and it was still several weeks of itching!

 

[nsok]

And talking about ticks, could help wearing socks till the knee or a elastic band over your trousers (I mean long trousers) in order to avoid ticks climbing up? I have never had any problem with ticks but lately I have seen some pictures and hear some srories that I want to live. I have to say that I have been twice in SA and it was during winter (August) and this year will be in August as well, and from my knowledge winter is safest for this small bugs is not it?

 

[nsok]

Sorry I mean I have seen some pictures and heard some stories that I do NOT want to live

 

[michaelhh375]

Hi nsok.

Grass and sand and other disturbing little stuff will be blocked. Also I forget one or two times these covers and one time I had a very dangerous visit in my boots. Check my pictures and " Result after having a visit in my boots"

"

 

[nsok]

Thank you Michael, that is the kind of visits I do not want to have

 

[PaulT]

Again Bert, thanks sincerely for the invaluable advice.

I had no idea Deet maxed out, in performance at 30%. I've been ignorantly sucked into the 80% stuff for years now. I'll be making the change immediately.

As I wrote above, I've been hammered hard by most of the insects in the area we operate, of which there is quite a list.
I cannot afford to be too precious about where I go or how I get there as I have a task to perform and my major avoidance efforts are concentrated on snake,and to a lessor extent crocodile, not insects.

I'm not yet sure if Permethrin is available in Australia, but I'll be certainly looking into it.

If you don't mind me asking,can you please either confirm or deny the theory regarding Vitamin B and it's effectiveness in deterring mosquitoes, midges etc.
Thanks in advance,
Paul.

P.S michaelhh375,I saw a good buddy of mine get a nasty boil like the one in your pic whilst we were hunting in Zim one year, from a blister beatle. Very messy and according to my mate, painful too. He had a tough trip that time, also getting smacked in the side of the head,whilst sitting in the huntin truck driving to a location at speed, from a full sized dung beatle which hit him quite hard, smashed into the side of his head, smeared yellow-green-black gunk everywhere and left him with a bruised temple !

 

[Bert the Turtle]

I don't know about the vitamin B. I don't think it would hurt, but I put my faith in permethrin/DEET. The nice thing about the permethrin is that once the clothes are treated, they stay treated for quite a while.

The US military spent a lot of tax dollars figuring this all out. Attached is a long PDF document of what they have discovered.

They say to not treat the hat and I can't argue with them. What I do is carefully paint the solution on the brim which doesn't touch my skin and the crown, which only touches my hair. The brim that touches my skin, I leave untreated.

 

[nsok]

What I have used the last two years was 100 percent DEET on my clothes (especially trousers mouth, socks and boots) and 50 percent on my skin. Anyway, Louis from Spiral horn, who I am going to hunt with this year has told me that in August (Winter) should not have too many ticks

 

[Xpraetor]

I see a lot of PHs and hunters wearing sock protectors / overboot covers (I think this is the name) Could anyone tell me what is the main purpose for wearing it?

nsok,
We call the m "gaiters" or more precisely ankle gaiters. There are full leg gaiters, which are purposed for snow. I use these pictured below, they are made of neoprene and designed for using with fly fishing waders. These fit snug and are somewhat water resistant. Excellent for early mornings with heavy dew and when crossing an occasional shallow stream. I mainly use these when hunting in thick fallow fields with tall grasses/vegetation. I also have a leather pair which I use when in wooded areas where vegetation is less dense.

 

[nsok]

Thank you Xpraetor, I have a pair of them, the ones till the knee that I use over the trousers.

...And welcome to AH

 

[classicsafari]

I use those Neoprene ones for Trout fishing but they would be too hot with no breathing ability for Africa. In Australia the common Landscaper type cotton "sock saver" is ideal.
Note; They will not stop Ticks but are great for preventing seeds, sticks, stones and sand from entering.