CHENANGO COUNTY – Spring is finally here and many of us are looking to cure our cabin fever with some time spent outside. Whether you prefer hiking, camping, backpacking, geocaching, fishing, hunting, climbing, wildlife viewing, or gardening, you will want to keep tick prevention in mind.
Preventive measures should be used year round but particularly during the warmer seasons. We can always avoid brushy and wooded areas and stay in the center of the trail to reduce our chances of encountering ticks, but where’s the fun in that?
For those of us who like to explore, there are some steps that we can take to reduce the chance of having one of these unwanted visitors.
Our clothing choices can help prevent ticks from attaching to us. Wear long sleeve shirts and pants when possible. I myself wear nylon or polyester hiking pants. They are very lightweight and they dry fast in the event of rain.
Tuck in your shirt and tuck your pant legs into your socks to give ticks fewer entry points to reach your skin.
It can be helpful to wear light colored clothing as well so that it is easier to spot a tick crawling on the outside of your clothing.
There is some clothing that you can purchase with repellent built into the fabric. For those of you who don’t like chemicals there are new base layers out that are designed to protect against ticks and other biting insects.
I have not tried these yet myself but the fabric they use is created to prevent insects from biting through. The cuffs have a snug fitting elastic to prevent insects from crawling inside.
There is always the option of using spray repellents as well.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests using repellent that contains 20 percent or more of permethrin, picaridin, IR3535, or DEET. Be sure to follow the instructions for these sprays though.
Sprays that have permethrin as an active ingredient should only be sprayed on your clothing and gear. I used this as a biological field technician while working in Nebraska and Missouri. It is best to spray your clothing in advance and then let it dry before wearing it. I would also spray the cuffs of my clothing.
Be very careful not to get this on your skin. I once had a spray bottle I was using and the chemical oozed down the side of the can rather than creating a mist spray like it was supposed to. Some of it ran over my thumb. I can tell you from experience it will burn.
I would suggest wearing gloves while applying this as a safety precaution. Permethrin will remain protective through several washings as well, so once again be sure to follow the instructions.
After coming in from your latest excursion outdoors, you should make sure to check for ticks even if you have taken some prevention measures.
Ticks typically will climb up your body towards your head, but will be stopped by areas where your clothing constricts. While you should check everywhere, I would pay special attention along elastic waistlines and on your head.
Showering as soon as you come in and putting your clothes straight into the laundry is always a good idea too.
I would also recommend keeping a small roll of duct tape in your pack when you go out. The chances are fairly low that you will ever need it, but if you do, you will be extremely grateful that you have it.
The duct tape is for when or if you walk through a nest of ticks. Yes, I said nest. I’ve hit a few of them myself.
Most of the nests I ran into were while working in Nebraska. They were large dog ticks so even though they recently hatched, they were still large enough to grab. I gave up counting them one day after pulling off 50 of them.
However, in our area the ticks tend to be smaller in size, so when they hatch they are extremely small. They are so small that you can’t pick them up off your skin. It almost looks like dust on your skin, but when you look close you’ll see that the dust is moving.
This is when duct tape will become your best friend. The good news is that the chances of getting lyme disease from a nest of ticks is very low since they probably have not attached to a host before.
I realize that the thought of becoming a host to ticks is enough to make your skin crawl but, I certainly don’t want to scare anyone from going outside. I have only ever hit tick nests while bushwhacking and I was spending over 40 hours a week working in remote areas.
Once again you may never need the duct tape, but it’s good to have just in case.
Now get outside and break your cabin fever with whatever your choice of outdoor activity may be.