Talkin’ ticks - prevention and removal

Nothing bugs a hiker more than to discover that his or her romp in the wilderness has paid an unwanted dividend in the form of a tick bite. But you don’t have to be a hiker or outdoors junkie to come in contact with ticks - even walking in your neighborhood or working in your yard can cause you to become a tick’s next meal ticket.

In the above photo, the tick on the left is an adult male deer tick, which is dark in color. In the middle is the adult female, which is red and dark brown. On the right is an adult female wood tick. Note the wood tick’s white markings, which are not present on the deer ticks.

So how do you avoid a tick bite? By learning how to prevent them, say the folks at Stop Ticks On People:

Wear light colored clothing, long sleeves and pants, tuck pants into socks. Long loose hair should be covered, braided or tied when venturing into areas where ticks are apt to be. Spray your clothing, etc.

When coming in from outside activities where you might have encountered ticks, throw clothing into the dryer set on high heat. This will ensure no ticks survive on your clothing. Remember to do a tick check, take a shower and wash your hair.

Keep pets that have outside exposure off furniture, especially bedding.

Fortunately, ticks aren’t very active. They can’t leap at you as you walk by. But if you brush up against them, they can latch on to you. Therefore, it’s best to stay on trails and avoid tall grass or deep brush.

There are times when I’ve been grateful to know a few things about dealing with ticks. For all my cumulative trail miles, I haven’t been bitten by a tick. Nevertheless I’ve picked about five of them off my person in thirty-plus years of hiking. The point of this post, however, is not to scare you away from the trail, but to advise you about what you may encounter when you’re out there, and to be prepared. Like me, you might want to carry a first aid kit that includes a set of tweezers.

Suffice to say: a little knowledge is a great thing, and a hike in the wine country is even greater.

Knowing how to check for ticks, how to remove them, and which repellant sprays to use is information worth knowing for anyone who plans to be outdoors. To learn more, check out the Prevention page on the Stop Ticks On People website.

Thanks to Tom Mangan at Two-Heel Drive for spurring me to post this piece.

~winehiker

This entry was posted on Friday, May 4th, 2007 at 10:55 am and is filed under grape squeezins, winehiker's trails. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.