4 Easy Tips for Preventing Tick Bites

Summertime is the perfect time to get out and explore the great outdoors! However, before you head out on your next adventure, it’s important to take some precautions against ticks. These pesky critters can transmit a number of harmful diseases, so it’s best to take steps to protect yourself from them. In this blog post, we will discuss quick tips for repelling ticks and preventing tick bites. Stay safe and enjoy your summer travels!

Many of us enjoy spending time outdoors, but it’s important to be aware of the risks that come with it. Ticks can lurk in tall grasses and bushes, and when they attach themselves to humans, they can transmit dangerous diseases like Lyme disease. Thankfully, there are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself from ticks.

1. Walk down the center of the path

Ticks are more common on the peripheries of trails, so walking down the center might help you avoid ticks that are waiting to attach themselves to a potential host. It’s also crucial to note that simply stepping off the trail to let someone by raises your chance of being bitten.

2. Tuck your garments in and wear tick-repellent clothing.

Wearing proper clothing is the best way to protect against ticks. Tucking your shirt into your pants and your pants into your socks will help keep ticks from attaching to your clothes and then crawling up your skin. Wearing repellent apparel is also effective, but even if you’re not wearing repellent clothing, tucking in your clothes will help prevent ticks from getting on you. So, remember, when you’re out in tick country: wear proper clothing and tuck in your shirt and pants!

3. Make sure you check for ticks thoroughly.

After spending time in a tick environment, it’s critical to do a thorough tick check on yourself, your children, and your pets, particularly if your clothing restricts your skin, such as underarms. More information on Tick Checks may be found on the Equip-4-Ticks resource center.

Perform tick checks from your feet to the top of your head

Ticks can be found in various locations. Here are a few of their favorite spots:

Between toes
Behind knees
In the groin area
Around waistline
In the belly button
Inside elbow joints and armpits
In and around the ear
Around the hairline
On the scalp

What to do if you have a tick embedded:

If you find a tick that is embedded in your skin, there are a few things you can do to remove it. The first thing you should do is disinfect the area around the tick with rubbing alcohol. This will help to prevent any infection from occurring. Next, use a pair of tweezers to gently pull the tick out of your skin. Make sure to pull the tick out slowly and evenly, so that you do not leave the head of the tick behind in your skin. Once the tick is removed, disinfect the area again with rubbing alcohol. Finally, watch for any signs of illness, such as a rash or fever, and see a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms.

4. Remove your clothing after visiting a tick zone and put them in the washer or, at the very least, the dryer.

Putting your clothing in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutes after being in a tick habitat will kill any ticks that may be hiding on your clothing. This simple measure could help save you from a lot of misery down the road. So, the next time you go for a hike in the woods, make sure to throw your clothes in the dryer when you get home – your health will thank you for it!

Best Repellents: Permethrin Is a Tick Preventative.

While there are a number of ways to prevent tick bites, one of the most effective is to wear permethrin-treated clothing. Permethrin is a synthetic insecticide that is deadly to ticks, and when clothing is treated with permethrin, ticks may grab on, but they will quickly fall off. You can buy pre-treated clothing, spray your own clothing and gear with permethrin spray, or send in your clothes using the Insect Shield Your Clothes program. Permethrin-treated apparel is recommended by Dr. Thomas Mather to assist repel tick bites due to the product’s long-lasting nature. By taking this simple step, you can help to reduce your risk of getting a tick-borne illness.

The following are some of the advantages of clothing that has been treated with permethrin:

Long-lasting
Don’t have to reapply it every time you step outside
Effective
Odorless
Invisible

Permethrin spray should be applied to your shoes.

Spraying your shoes with permethrin spray can help prevent tick attachments because nymphal and larval stage ticks attach at the ankle. Dr. Mather suggests doing it once a month.

By following these four simple tips, you can help to prevent tick bites and reduce your risk of getting a tick-borne illness.

About Equip-4-Ticks Resource Center

Equip-4-Ticks Resource Center, a collaboration between tick expert, Dr. Thomas Mather, PhD and Insect Shield Repellent Technology, was launched to offer tips, informational content, and a comprehensive video library to help the public stay protected from ticks and the dangerous diseases they may carry.

About Dr. Thomas Mather, PhD

Dr. Mather (a.k.a. “The TickGuy”) joined the University of Rhode Island in 1992 from the Harvard School of Public Health and now serves as director of URI’s Center for Vector-Borne Disease and its TickEncounter Resource Center. His research focus is on tick ecology, area-wide tick control strategies, tick-bite protection, and tick-borne disease prevention. His research and outreach programs are diverse, including anti-tick vaccine discovery projects, evaluations of targeted tick control strategies, tick-borne disease risk prediction, as well as the development of tick-bite protection decision support tools and social networking strategies for tick-borne disease prevention. His work has attracted funding from a wide variety of sources, including the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Agency for International Development.

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