Last year where I hunt on state game lands we came home and I must have had 50 ticks crawling all over my pant legs and my coat! They were really bad last year. Hopefully not this year!!!

Which public ground in central IL? Hopefully you're not talking about Sand Ridge.

If I had to hunt those kind of areas I think I'd be duct taping my pant legs around my ankles.

The area is Wolf Creek at Lake Shelbyville, where there is a VERY high number of deer. They were definitely deer ticks and not chiggers. Besides shaving my head, I sprayed myself with Bug Stop killer, and bathed, which got rid of most of them. I still picked off a few throughout the afternoon. Had to spray my clothes, hat, shoes, shower, the towel I dried off with, the floor and the rug. Those things got everywhere! I've never seen ticks in such numbers.

pjhunts,
That is a cool picture for your signature of that guy shooting a bow. What camoflage is he wearing? if you can tell.

That sucks...ticks pose quite a problem here too, but mostly in the spring, they are gone by fall. One question though, what by chance is a chigger?

pjhunts,
If I was you, I'd go to the doctor and get a test for lyme's. You can have it in your system for 4 years before ever realizing you have it. By then, some pretty severe damage can be done to your brain.

I'm going to the doc tomorrow. My lower legs and ankles are covered with red bumps with a "burning" sensation. From what I've heard Lyme's isn't something you want to mess with. Chiggers are very, very small red bugs that bite. You can barely see them, they hang out in weeds and grass. They will cause you to itch about like poison ivy does