Defending Against Ticks

One of the most popular questions we get asked is how to deal with ticks and other bugs in the woods.  The severe effects of Lyme disease have been a concern of outdoor enthusiasts for a good while now, but more recently emergent diseases have made headlines by causing severe allergic reactions to meat.  Plus with mosquitos carrying diseases like Zika, it just pays to protect ourselves from these blood suckers.

Our first line of defense against the environment is our clothing.  Just like dressing for winter, seal off pathways for air to reach your skin.  These are the same pathways on which a tick or mosquito will capitalize.  Start by tucking in your shirt to your pants, and your pants into your boots.  Do your best not to allow any avenues a tick could enter.

Despite our best efforts, sometimes ticks do get in.  It is good practice to take a piece of elastic and tie it around arms and legs.  Ticks like warm, dark, and damp places.  If they do manage to get past your clothing, the piece of elastic seems like a good place to call home stopping them from traveling to harder to search areas.

The chemical industry has come up with some pretty good protection from insects. DEET stands for diethyltoluamide, a chemical rated to kill insects and be safe for contact with the skin.  I've had pretty painful though short lasting rashes from a lotion containing 100% DEET.   Off Deep Woods Insect Repellant is a readily available spray option that contains 25% DEET available at Walmart and most drug stores.  We've had students use it in class with great success.

The best option for treating your clothes is without a doubt Sawyer Products Premium Premetherin.  Simply spray generously on your clothing the day before your outing.  As it dries, it forms a shield against bugs for up to 6 washes.  All you have to do is let it dry, and you are protected.  I've seen bugs fall over and die like they were in a cartoon.  This stuff works that well!

Garlic oil, rosemary, lemongrass, peppermint, and thyme are common spices that have been shown to have some level off repellant against insects.  A smudge or smoke bath is a traditional means of naturally deterring pests.  When moving into a debris hut that may have sat dormant for some time, it is common practice to drive insects out of the shelter by a smoldering a small bunch of leaves.  The bugs think a forest fire is coming and really high tail it out of there.

Above all, the number one way to keep ticks off you is to avoid them.  Ticks really like areas of transition from woods to field or creek.  They wait on grass and leaves until their prey walks nearby where the tick can fall or jump to hitch a ride.  If you stay deep in the woods or in the middle of the field one stands a better chance at avoiding a tick bomb.

Frequent checks are essential to a comprehensive tick maintenance plan.  A detailed check of one's body should be performed twice a day while in tick country.  Ticks' jaw structure makes it hard for their teeth to grip when inverted on their backs.  Should you be bitten by a tick, use tweezers to gently flip the tick on its back before pulling.  Do not rip as it increases the chances that pieces of the tick will be left in the wound.

Monitor a bitten area.  Should the area become inflamed see your Doctor.  Further symptoms of lyme include headaches, joint pain, fevers, fatigue, and muscle pain.  See your doctor should you experience any of these symptoms after an extended stay in the woods.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is an understatement when it comes to bugs and the diseases they carry.  A compound approach ensures the highest probability of defense.  Use herbal deterrents, treat your clothing with premetherine, use a spray repellant approved for skin contact, and use your clothing as a physical barrier by sealing off entrances to your body.  These steps will greatly decrease your chances of disease carried by an insect.