by R. Renee Bembry

Created on: May 02, 2010

Knowing how to avoid ticks can prevent diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplasmosis, erlichiosis, and Rikettsia parkeri infection. These diseases can cause mild symptoms such as rashes, chills, fever, and headaches, diarrhea, light sensitivity, malaise, and muscle aches. Sometimes symptoms may be treated at home, however, it is best to seek medical advice for all tick related symptoms because tick bites can lead to death.

Learning to avoid ticks means in part learning about environments ticks frequent and avoiding those areas; and yet, there may be times when avoiding tick infested environments is impossible or simply not feasible. For example, people work in these environments. In furtherance, some people live in these environments.

Travelers may think of grassy and brushy areas as tick harborers and thus, be mindful to avoid grassy bushy grounds. This may be well and dandy since ticks such as Lyme disease causing Borrelia burgdorferi does frequent grassy and brushy environments. Grassy bushy areas are not the only environments ticks frequent; however, thus travelers should be mindful of ticks living in woody areas as well.

In cases where avoiding tick environments is impossible or near impossible the next best thing to do is to avoid tick attacks. This means learning to keep ticks off people and their pets. Keeping ticks off people means dressing in protective manners when preparing for trips through tick-infested areas.

When planning to travel through tick-infested environments avoid ticks by wearing light colored clothing that covers the entire body and hats that block ticks from hair. Tick avoidance outfits should consist of light colored long sleeve shirts and long pants plus socks and shoes.

Light colored clothing allows wearers to spot hitching ticks easier should ticks jump on their clothes. Long pants and long sleeve shirts, sweaters, or jackets help keep ticks from jumping on skin. For additional security, tuck shirts into pants and tuck pant cuffs into socks. Shoes should surround the entire foot - no sandals or sling backs. Get the most from hat wearing by pony tailing long hair and tucking it under hats.

In addition to avoiding ticks using protective clothing when visiting tick environments it is also a good idea to wear tick repellent. Tick repellents with DEET or permethrin work best. You can spray DEET onto skin or clothing. Permethrin is for clothing only.  Users should read and follow instructions

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