Outdoor phobias How are you dealing?

I don't want to go outdoors. I used to love nature, the ocean, tall swaying grass. Fishing....camping....

Nothing is worth reinfection.

We are selling our RV in the spring. Hopefully before word of a tick epidemic gets out 🕷and the resale values get driven down. That was a joke 😆
Or we could keep it and park on a Walmart lot somewhere. Better than my house that has deer coming up to my back door.

Seriously, how many feel like this? Short of running to the car in a hazmat suit, what do you do? How are you coping ?

Am I nuts? They told me at the hospital I was!

I'm with Girlie, and I can tell you so will Traveler. I'd rather not live if I couldn't go out of doors in the country anymore.

And there are no guarantees you won't get it some other way. 'Skeeters, bed bugs, sex, blood transfusion......can't rule out anything in an unknown future, can't live in a bubble, must learn persistent protection.

Just need to be more cautious in nature. And never sit on lawn.

I cant live without an outdoor life. Getting re-infected, kind of freaked me out at one point. But fact is if, or when it happens again, at least I know about this stuff now, and the signs and who to go too, who NOT to see.

Most ticks will be in tall grass or weeds- avoiding that makes sense. I dont hike or walk through tall weeds or grass anymore. This means using wider or well used trails. I wont shore fish in weeds, only off docks, sand/gravel or boat/canoe now. I would love to stream fish trout, but wont because of the weeds. Wont mnt bike on overgrown trails, if its just short spots, I go faster though it.

An RV at least usually has a shower - important right after you've had an outdoor adventure - something I dont have. I usually camp in a van, but if its a tent I try avoiding the weeds and I fog the surrounding area first.

The only time I go off trail in weeds is in winter when its below freezing.

If lyme gets fully established in skeeters, then everyone in central and east US is doomed, we wont be lonely.

I live in WA state and the part I live in is pretty wet so we don't get a ton of ticks. Plus I live in the suburbs. So hiking and such here isn't too risky for Lyme. Whether I can actually handle it is another story...lol. Can't do those beautiful mountain hikes anymore.
We tend to go camping at the coast in well established campgrounds. But this is all before Lyme was on my radar. I don't know how I will feel this summer. It's tough. I mean, I can handle this crap but I really worry about my kids having inherited it and it just hasn't reared it's head yet.
I grew up outside basically. Grew up on hobby farms with horses, pigs, cows, barn cats, dogs... we'd just drive into the mountains and pitch a tent somewhere.
It's hard for me to even imagine doing any of that because I feel like crap currently and can't imagine having energy ever again. BUT if I do....I don't know. I love the ocean. I love the mountains. I love animals. But I hate bugs.
Just need to find some good insect repellant for sure. Girlie what do you use?

Girlie said...
I don't have a phobia. There's no way I can give up the outdoors.


In the warmer months, I put on natural tick repellant...and check myself when I get back indoors.

I think we need to be diligent about that...and also recognize if we get symptoms (when we're healed...I already have symptoms...

I am the same.

I live in the woods and my dog loves to run off into the brush, meaning I have to go in and get her. I am less paranoid now then I was before living here, mostly because I was creeped out by ticks, and never failed to acquire at least a few on any outing. I had started to see so many each time that I started collecting them in a jar, mostly to ID them, but in doing so I lost my fear and they lost their creepiness. then I found out I was infected and for a short time I was extra diligent, but I've since realized that if it's something I might live with for the rest of my life, if I get it again, then I get it again. I'm still in the early stage of treatment though.

But I could never give up the outdoors, it's my only real hobby. I just do more thorough checks now when I come in. Most of the people I know that live in my area kind of have the mentality that they are bound to get it at some point because of the high level of tick activity. they do take precautions, but don't let it run their lives, and understand that it's a high probability, even with 25% deet repellent, which the NJ ticks seem to just walk right over and/or bathe in with no problem.

yes, this > permethrin.

Its a insecticide chemical, not a brand for your cloths, kills ticks after drying up to one month. Do not use on skin. Repel has one spray product with chemical in it.

Tests have shown deet does not repel ticks.

Repel also make a tick spray for skin, I think its deet free, deterant, not a killer.

Outdoor stores nation wide have both of these Repel products.

I love permethrin...it's very effective even with small concentrations. I use it on my dog's legs as extra protection and spray my shoes...it's the same stuff in the k9 advantixx 2 topical and safe for horses, livestock, dogs, but not cats for some reason.

I would note that if you use it to treat areas of your yard, be mindful that it can be harmful to beneficial bees and some other beneficial insects. I made the mistake of using it generously outside the perimeter of my house and it may have hurt some good bugs outside. Now, to protect my home, I just lightly spray the outside facing walls on the inside of the house, primarily along the edge of the floor and under trim. Generally no good bugs really come inside, except for spiders, but i haven't noticed any effect on spiders.

Hope they didn't buy a raft. 😊