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suggested clothing/tips for hikers to prevent new bites

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Lyme Disease
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Posted 3/14/2012 1:08 AM (GMT 0)
As a community development worker, woods walking and hiking is my mental salvation. I am 2 months into treatment and need some good strategies and better understanding of ticks preferred habitat to prevent another bite.

Re clothing - any good suggestions that keep ticks off but are still cool when physically active? Can I wear legging type pants or will ticks bite through them?

Re habitat preference - are ticks more likely to be in grassy areas or wooded areas? Or, are just everywhere that deer are?
Thank you very much. I greatly appreciate any information or good links.
Posted 3/14/2012 6:01 AM (GMT 0)
Ok a few things you can do, wear long pants and tuck them into your socks.. Also a long sleeve shirt is best but I see them pretty fast on my arms and usually they go for the legs anyways. Also wear light colors so the little demons show up!.. Most importantly get Permethrin and spray all your outer hiking clothes down with it. It kills ticks on contact and lasts through several washings.
Ticks are definitely in the grass but you are more likely to get them on you walking through brush. Unless of course you sit on the ground, especially in leafy areas.
Also if you are willing to go the extra mile take your clothes off outside, bag them then throw them in the dryer on hot and bake any hitchhikers!
Posted 3/14/2012 7:44 AM (GMT 0)
i believe i got my bart infection from biting sand flies, on a beach or swimming in lake water..
its a vector illness..all bugs, birds, water has some form of these bacteria-parasites in it
Posted 3/14/2012 12:13 PM (GMT 0)
They are marketing clothes now that have permethrin incorporated in them, it lasts about 50 washes. Seems that the spray would do the same thing -- you just have to remember to do it.

You might want to use the patches that stick to the back of your hat that repel flying insects. My grandson contracted Lyme Disease from a deer fly.

Taking your clothes off immediately is a very good option and suits a hiking expedition, but that is hard for us folks who are in and out many times of the day! I'd have to learn how to be a quick-change artist!

Pets can bring the ticks into the house as well. So it is very important to keep checking yourself for ticks or evidence of bites.

If you are being treated now, check with your doctor to see if your current meds would take care of a new infection. Otherwise, see if your doctor would supply you with a prescription for a one preventative dose of doxy for if you discover a bite.

Happy Hiking!
Posted 3/14/2012 2:08 PM (GMT 0)
When I venture out into the wooded area of our property this is what I do....

All clothes are sprayed with Permethrin.  I wear long slleeves, long pants (nylon ones because ticks have a harder time grabbing hold of them), tuck pants into socks and duct tape them together.  I wear garden gloves and duct tape them to my long sleeved shirt.  I wear a hat and a mesh thing that goes over my hat and down to my shoulders(all sprayed with Permethrin).  I know that I look REALLY strange and I always hope we don't get unexpected company when I'm dressed like this...but it makes me feel safer.  When I return to the house everything goes into a hot dryer - if it is dirty I first wash it in hot water and then to the hot dryer. 

 

Posted 3/14/2012 3:32 PM (GMT 0)
This is exactly why I don't feel safe outside anymore.
Posted 3/14/2012 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Permethrin also repels mosquitos, spray a hat down with it and it will keep them away from your head. We vacationed on Assateague Island which has horrible mosquitos, spraying my hat down helped a lot.
Posted 3/17/2012 3:11 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you everyone for your tips. I don't want to let this thing take over my life by making me afraid of what I love most - the outdoors. I do admit with the mild winter and the snow all melted - I'm getting a bit nervous.
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