Gross right?
After having a personal encounter with these little creatures, it put me down the tick rabbit hole of outdoor tick safety. First question was “why do these things even exist?” …. Well the answer to that is they provide nourishment to low food chain animals (I read all about it on Dr Google). But, other than that they are just gross things that we would rather not have on our bodies. It really did have me think of better ways to protect myself, my kids & my dog from ticks and how important proper tick checks are. I am going to dive into what I could have done differently, proper hiking attire, protecting your animals, and how to tick check your entire family.
Let’s start with “there is no such thing as a tick nest” but they do lay eggs in masses and this is how it all started. My husband and I ended up sitting in what must have been a place where the ticks hatched. While attending to a hungry baby, I happened to look at my leg and say “oh, that’s a weird spider” followed by “OH MY GOSH, that is a tick”. I bet you can picture the panic I am going through and here comes the first thing I did wrong… I swatted the ticks off me so fast in every direction having no idea where they even went. This was no good, my husband gave me the husband lecture to calm down and how this is not how we control the situation. I however do admit this very often but my husband is usually right… since I swatted these little buggers we weren’t sure if it went into my child carrier, somewhere else on me, or my baby (in which I am still holding). My husband would have liked to calmly brush them off … but that was a little late and now we were having to re-evaluate the situation all over again. I was really obsessing over the fact that they were found where we were sitting and I personally did not think ticks were commonly on the ground. I have always been the one to dive away from brushing up against trees or bushes. So I am sitting here thinking no ground is safe.
After that entire ordeal, I took a look at what we were all wearing and reviewed what changes we could have made. I can ensure you my son wearing shorts and myself wearing a tank top was not proper attire for this hike. I have taken the time to review and prepare for my next outdoor trip and below is how to take the most precautions.
- It has been suggested to wear light Colored clothing, this is so you are able to spot a tick crawling on you
- Wear long pants (no shorts, even on the hottest days)
- My husband will tell you to wear pants over your boots (so nothing will fall into your boot), while some sources say to tuck your pants in your socks. Your call on this one
- Wear a long sleeve shirt – sweat resistant shirt is key. It is recommended to also tuck your shirt into your pants
- Hats! (I am terrible at wearing them, I get so hot). Hats however do protect anything from falling above onto your head.
- Hiking boots / Shoes that cover your feet.
Other precautions:
- Try to avoid sitting directly on the ground there are summit seats, or outdoor cushions that are great to use.
- The use of insect repellent before the hike, spraying the child carriers and clothing before hand – There are natural based repellents that are safe for the whole family including the dog.
- Bug nets – a quick and easy one to cover the child backpack carrier
Pet Tick Prevention
After we have made sure we are all safe from ticks, we also have to ensure our dogs are safe as well. We have a black lab so you can imagine how hard it is to see ticks on this boy. Before hand, spray your hand with pet friendly insect repellent and run it along their coat (focus on areas that ticks zone into- warm areas such as armpits, ears, and so on). Another great prevention is to ensure they have taken tick pills. This is a quick visit to your vet to discuss the proper options for your pet. If that isn’t an option there is also tick collars (I haven’t tried it yet though).
The Tick Check
Checking for ticks should be good practice for you and your family after any time spent outdoors. Even after our encounter with them I am going to be on high alert while doing more frequent tick checks. Here are some steps to run through so you can sleep easy at night.
- Check all outer layers of clothing & gear. If you find any ticks on your clothing throw your clothes into the dryer on high heat for 20 min. (Ticks do not like heat). You can also wash them in hot water and proceed to dry on high heat.
- Get naked ! No joke, stand in front of that long length mirror and check every crevice of your body. Ticks like the warm areas such as behind knees, armpits, neck hairline, and behind ears. This is just to name a few.
- Take a shower – this can rinse off any loose ticks that were missed in your initial check
After you have checked yourself don’t forget your furry friend. Same places to check on a dog are those warm / hidden areas (toes, armpits, bum, and ears). Use a tick comb or brush run through the dogs fur. Make sure if you are snagged on something you inspect what it is. Do a second run through, over your dogs body with your fingers feeling for anything raised or what I have read “pea size”.
If you happen to come across a imbedded tick on yourself or pet it is recommended to pull out the tick without twisting it with a pair of tweezers (close to the skin as possible). Make sure you do not squish the tick, it is recommended you visit the doctor regarding your tick bite.
Brittany Outdoors 