While enjoying your outdoor activity, it is possible to pick up ticks, especially if you’re in a wooded or grassy area. Ticks are bloodsucking little critters that can bite and lead to the development of tick-borne diseases. One of the most common types of tick-borne disease is Lyme disease, but there are several others as well. It is smart to prevent tick bites however you can, in a safe manner and limit the risk of tick-borne ailments. Let’s take a look at a few ways to prevent tick bites from happening in the first place.
Avoid Certain Areas
It helps to know where ticks can be found and avoid those places. While ticks can’t fly, they hang out on plant life, and if you come in contact with these things, they can transfer to you. Make an effort to avoid walking through leaf litter, in wooded areas, tall grasses, and weeds where ticks tend to hang out. Staying in the center of trails when walking or hiking and avoid sitting directly on the ground when camping. Trim overgrown lawn, rake fallen leaves to prevent having a tick problem and picnic on a sunlit, low-cut patch of grass that’s dry.
How to Dress
An important line of defense against ticks is wearing appropriate clothing. If you are living in a tick-prone region, in particular, you want to dress in light-colored clothing to be better able to spot ticks. For added protection, insert the hem of your long pants into your socks and wear long-sleeve shirts, a hat and boot, and hiking footwear.
Products to Use
There are certain tick repellant products that you can use to keep ticks at bay. Products with DEET(diethyltoluamide) or permethrin can offer protection from tick bites for more protection. DEET can be directly applied to a person’s skin to repel ticks, while permethrin works by killing them when the application is sprayed on the body, clothing, and gear. DEET products should have at least 20%-30% DEET ingredient, and permethrin products with 0.5% permethrin will work more effectively.
Check For Ticks
After leaving an environment where tick resides, you want to ensure that you do not transfer any indoors and that none hangs around and get rooted in your skin. Ticks can latch onto your pet, clothing, footwear, and gear. Perform a full body check for ticks, checking between joints, hair covered portions of the body and behind the ears. Don’t forget to check your clothing, pet, footwear, and gear.
Ticks are nasty little critters that can cause serious problems if they get the chance to bite you. With the right repellant, proper clothing and a thorough check performed, you reduce the risk of being bitten by ticks. Be smart and diligent when it comes to keeping ticks at bay; you’ll be happy you did.
If you are looking for a company around the South Shore and Cape Cod areas that offer complete pest control solutions, contact A & M Pest Control immediately. Call us now or head on over to our website to have a full view of our services.
