I shot a 100 pound sow last week and unlike the vast majority I have shot before, this one had a lot of fleas. Gutted her and let her hang several hours before skinning, but she still had some fleas on her. My uncle's place does not have running water, so spraying her down with soap and water was not an option. I have heard of some folks filling spray bottles with some type of concoction to get rid of fleas and ticks. What do some of you do to get rid of the fleas without running water? TIA

Take 'em for a ride behind the SxS on a strap. Some have fun, most think it's a drag.

Charlie

Man I would seriously consider getting a refund on that pig

You can use a cactus burner.

Dawn Soap and water, in a spray bottle, kills them dead. Doesn't take much water to rinse them off after that, either. Hate the little bastiches, and get a bad allergic reaction to the bites

Charlie: I think the fleas would enjoy the joyride but would still stay "home".

Biscuit: Only refund I could get would be about $2 for the 6.5x284 shell that was used!

Jet: Don't have a burner. Would be a great way to put it to those little bloodsuckers.

Blank: That's what I was thinking. I think I'll upgrade that idea and get one of those 1 or 2 gallon tank sprayers to make sure there's plenty of the mixture to do the job, especially if more than one of those porkers meets its maker on any given day.

I use the 16 oz. bottles of rubbing or isopropyl alcohol. Poke a small slit(1/4") in the bottom of a bottle and then squeeze the bottle to spray out a stream of alcohol over the entire hog. How many bottles it takes depends of the size of the hog. I have done hogs and javi's with it. Works great and it evaporates in no time.

That's worth a try as well. Does it have to be pure rubbing alcohol or could I maybe mix up a gallon in a tank sprayer with about 75% alcohol and 25% water?

I have cleaned a lot of pigs that had fleas & ticks, and no running water around. This is what I do.

1) Spray yourself down good with Off

2) Wash your clothes (or change) and take a bath when you're done.


Have cleaned a lot of deer full of flees & ticks too, same thing. Just spray down good and take a shower or a whore bath when you're done.

Not a big deal.

I hate, hate, hate fleas And ticks. Pretty much nothing else bothers me (besides chiggers) but haaaate fleas and ticks. My buddy shot a deer outside Fredericksburg that was covered in fleas. As soon as we loaded that thing into the SxS they were jumping ship and coming for us. Once your clothes get infested with them, then your vehicle, then your house and that’s disgusting to me so I avoid them like the plague. Like a real plague, not chinese flu.
If you spray it with a spray bottle of dawn, is it really necessary to even rinse off before skinning? All the meat gets washed anyways and I’d figure what little got on the meat would get washed right off anyways.
I’ll be following this along.

Are they fleas or lice?

I sure would.

Remnants of Dawn or any other soap product on food isn't what you want. If you use a nozzle to hose off the meat, you can cause the soap to be forced into membranes.

They are lice

I used only alcohol since it evaporates quickly and kills quickly. You can put it in a spray bottle to spray over the pig and do the same as poking a small hole in the bottom to squeeze out a spray stream.

Thanks STX. Getting rid of those nasty blood suckers is worth the money to make it a pure alcohol spray.

I don't even touch those covered with lice, ticks, or fleas. The buzzards will eat it.

The lice you typically find on hogs are 'hog lice' and they are not zoonotic. They won't bother you (as a threat).

That's good to know. Still I don't want to bring them home to my dogs or house.
Some of them are not fit to eat. Unless you like pig ears.

Just reading this article is making me itch.

That is one ugly boar. I typically eat any hog I shoot or trap, but I'd make an exception on that one. Even the buzzards would have second thoughts on that one.

You should have smelled it. It did take the buzzards longer than usual.

Not sure why the buzzards would care, they eat skunks.

I got an old white, long sleeve dress shirt and put it on backwards. Put on gloves, trap around gloves and sleeve ends- so no bugs can get at me. The ticks show up well on the white.