How to Avoid Ticks Outdoors

I love the outdoors, but every summer it’s a question of how to avoid ticks when I am outside.

I used to enjoy the outdoors without a care. The beauty and intricacies of God’s creation call to me.  I long for fresh air and sunshine. My mind craves beautiful images, whether it’s majestic mountains, the seemingly endless ocean, or the tiniest of creatures like a dainty dragonfly or the ruby-throated hummingbirds that grace my front porch most mornings. 

Then, Alpha-Gal Syndrome got me and brought with it challenges to enjoying this beauty that my soul craves. I had to change my lifestyle because of a tick bite. Definitely not something I expected.

Well, old Alpha-Gal, you will not have the final word! Today, let’s talk about overcoming challenges outside and how to avoid ticks when enjoying the great outdoors.

Avoiding Ticks at Home

Yes, the challenges to enjoying the great outdoors can feel like a heavy load at times. It’s especially true when pesky ticks invade our safe spaces, like our yard or favorite porch. Yet the beauty we get to behold is worth a few extra precautions.

Since we live in the country, we use an insecticide around our home. (Sometimes the hardest challenge is how to avoid ticks at home!) There are several types of insecticides available, so let’s go over a few. 

If you like to use more natural products, some insecticides are essential oil-based. However, most of these are not very effective, so you may have to try several brands to find a product that works. The brand TickWarrior offers several all-natural insect repellants that are effective, at least where we live.

Most insecticides are more chemical-based, and you can pick them up at your local feed and seed stores. Common insecticides include Permethrin, DEET, and Picaridin. You can either spray these around your house and yard, or use Permethrin to make tick tubes.

Recently, one of the Alpha-Gal support groups I’m in suggested a newer product called BactroBUG. BactroBug claims to be non-toxic, and kills pests through rapid dehydration. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s worth a shot if you don’t want to use traditional insecticides.

Lastly, if you want to avoid insecticides altogether, you might enjoy adding a flock of free-range chickens or guineas to your property. A flock of chickens may not entirely solve the problem of avoiding ticks at home, but they will help cut down on the tick population.

Dressing to Avoid Ticks

When spending time outside, I occasionally choose to go off the beaten path. Because of this, I try to be careful and purposeful in how I dress to go outside so that I can avoid future tick bites. 

First and foremost, I wear hiking boots or at least close-toed shoes that lace up snuggly. I saturate my shoes with tick repellent. I prefer to use the strong chemical-based spray, but you may be more comfortable with herbal tick repellent. 

In addition to wearing close-toed shoes, I choose to wear hiking socks or some type of longer sock that offers more coverage of my ankles and lower leg. Longer socks also allow for you to tuck your pants into the sock, making it harder for the pesky little bloodsuckers to get to your skin or crawl up your leg. I also spray a good coating of tick repellent on my socks (without completely saturating them).

Honestly, I don’t always wear long pants. It really depends on where I’m going. If I plan to hike the deep woods or through tall grass, then I definitely wear long pants. On the other hand, if I am planning to hike or walk on well-developed trails or paved walkways in a local park, then I will wear shorts. 

No matter what I wear, I usually spray my legs or pants with tick repellent of some type. If the repellent is going on my skin, I wear something less harmful to my body. If the insecticide is going on my clothing I use the strongest stuff I can. 

For my upper body and torso, I usually wear two shirts. One is more fitted, and the second is more like a jacket and tick deterrent. I spray my outer garments with stronger repellent, and my skin with something safer for humans. 

Recap

• wear close-toed shoes

• wear long socks

• wear long pants OR spray your legs with tick repellant

• spray your clothes & shoes with tick repellant

The Neck-Up Checkup

Since we need to breathe freely and want to see the sights of nature that we’ve come outdoors to enjoy, we can't rightly cover everything from the neck up!

However, we can apply insect repellent to the skin of our neck, face, and the base of our hair. I usually top off my outdoors ensemble with a hat. The more brim the better…but who can turn down a cute ball cap? (Especially a red NC State one).

Before I put on my hat, whichever type I choose, I spray the hat very heavily with strong insect repellent. This is especially important with a hat, because ticks are known to drop down from trees unnoticed. 

Recap

• apply insect repellant to your skin

• wear a hat (& spray it with repellant)

How to Avoid Bringing Ticks Inside

Following my exploration of the great outdoors, I go straight for the shower, dropping my clothes in the washer or dryer as I go. I scrub my head and every part of my body. If you are really worried about ticks, you can use a mirror to examine places you cannot see or reach well. 

Check all warm moist spots, like the groin, armpit, behind the knees, waist, etc. Be very cognizant of even the tiniest itch, because that could mean there is a tick crawling or trying to attach somewhere. It never hurts to have someone else check you over as well! If you happen to be my age, you may need to break out the reading glasses or magnifying glass, because some ticks are smaller than a pinhead. 

Please don’t forget to treat your clothes right away too. Some people put their outdoorsy clothes in the dryer on the hottest setting for 20 minutes, or throw their clothes into the washer as soon as they get home. Whichever you prefer, just don’t leave those outdoor clothes lying around. Ticks can easily crawl from your clothes to your carpet or bedding, and get you when you least expect it. 

Finally, don’t let these little varmints steal your joy. Despite my Alpha-Gal Syndrome, I still get outside regularly and even help run a cattle farm. (Ironic, I know.) But if I can do it, you can too.

Get out and enjoy your life. You only have one! Blessings, and happy hiking.