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Keep Ticks Off

On the Weekend of May 18th 1996, My Son and I Spent the Weekend in a Tent in Tick-Infested Lebanon State Forest Without Even One Tick Bite! Here^s How We Did It... From the desk of Allen Bunn, Pharmacist, Hartman^s Pharmacy, New Egypt, NJ 08533 I just did something I haven^t done in years. I went camping with the Cub Scouts. I slept in a tent, hiked through the woods, enjoyed a sing-along around the camp fire, chased my son out of the woods a million times, roasted marshmallows and enjoyed nature at it^s finest. Although apprehensive, and after almost backing out, I overcame my fear of ticks for my son. After one night and two days in the deep woods, we emerged tick-less, while others around us were covered. I want to share with you my recipe for success. I began my trip extremely stressed out. All I could think about was crawling ticks, itchy bites, bulls eye rashes, achey-swollen joints, months on IV^s, tons of doctor visits, nurses with needles... You get the picture. Since I was committed to sleeping with ticks for the weekend, I decided to pull out all the stops and practice every tick avoidance measure I knew. I packed two items in my duffle bag that saved my weekend-- one bottle of Duranon and a bottle of Buzz Away citronella bug repellent. First I went to work on our clothes. I sprayed our shirts, pants, socks and shoes with Duranon. This stuff repels and kills ticks, chiggers, mosquitoes, and other biting insects. Once applied to your outer clothing (you can^t use it on your skin), it dries into a safe chemical barrier against these annoying and disease-causing insects. Next, I coated every exposed skin surface with Buzz Away. This safe and effective bug repellent contains old-fashioned citronella. It does a marvelous job of keeping the ticks, chiggers and mosquitoes away from bare skin. And it^s safe enough to use on your kids sensitive skin (no toxic DEET). Did I stop here? Not me, Mr. I^m afraid of getting Lyme^s Disease. I sprayed Duranon on the outside of my tent, on the floor of the tent, on our sleeping bags, on our duffle bags, on the chairs we sat on, even on the ground around our little tent. When I was done we had a Duranon "force field" around every inch of our camp site. After watching this ritual, some of my fellow campers asked what I was doing. I told them. I even offered to share my can of Duranon. But all shied away because they were afraid of a product that could not be applied to bare skin. I thought to myself, "hmm", maybe my customers have the same apprehensions. I made a mental note to call the manufacturer on Monday morning and find out just how toxic Duranon is. Here^s what they told me: Dr. F. Coulston, a world renowned toxicologist and developer of the formula, chose the active ingredient Permethrin because it provided the best overall protection with widest margin of safety. It^s synthetically derived from the natural insecticide Pyre-thrin used by flowers for their protection from insects. Duranon is odorless when dry and won^t damage fabric, plastic, vinyl or finishes. One treatment will last two full weeks, even after two detergent washings. Needless to say, I spent the weekend watching others picking ticks off themselves and family members. Since I couldn^t keep my son out of the deep woods and underbrush, I checked him frequently. I never found one tick on him. I checked myself too. Again, no ticks. After a few hours, I started to relax. I thought to myself, "maybe it^s possible to enjoy the great outdoors after-all." The woods no longer seemed as threatening. My son could enjoy a romp through the woods just like I did when I was his age. I now had a powerful weapon against ticks and Lyme^s Disease. Upon arriving home on Sunday, we peeled off our clothes in the garage and hit the showers. I checked Michael from head to toe. NO TICKS! I checked myself. NO TICKS! I went to the garage and checked every inch of clothing, bedding, etc. for those nasty parasites. NO TICKS! Boy was I delighted! I said to my son, "Hey, maybe we can do this again sometime." He was extremely happy about that. After watching me pitch a fit before we left, he didn^t think I would ever consider another trip into the woods. I was so tense on Saturday that my son turned to my wife and said: "Gee Mom, do you think this is worth it?" Oh, by the way, a few minutes later I received a call from my neighbor. He wanted to borrow my ProTick Remedy tick remover to pluck a tick from his tummy. He^s one of those fellow campers who didn^t want to use my Duranon. Of course, he kept my ProTick Remedy after he saw how well it removes ticks. I didn^t mind because I have plenty at my store. If you^re going to venture out into the woods this summer, please practice these same measures. It worked for me and I am sure it will work for you. You too can enjoy the great outdoors without fear of ticks and Lyme^s disease. Warmly, Allen Bunn, R.Ph. PS: If you want to keep the ticks away, or kill them if they`re brave enough to jump aboard, Duranon is the key. 92% of hunters have already discovered how well it works. Isn^t it time for you to give it a try. As I stated earlier, it^s safe and effective.

Uploaded: 2/21/2004