How to Prevent Tick Bites When You're Outdoors
There’s nothing quite like spending time outside in nature. It can do some truly wonderful things for you mentally, emotionally, and physically. The tricky thing about being outside is that you’re sharing space with animals that see you as little more than a meal, animals like ticks. No one wants to get tick bites. So what can you do to prevent them when you’re outside?
Keep Them Out of Your Yard
What are the chances of ticks lurking in your yard? If you don’t take steps to keep them out, the chances might be higher than you’re comfortable with. Keep ticks out of your yard by keeping the grass well mowed. Adding a strip of wood chips or bark that is several feet wide and separates your lawn from any brush around the edge of your yard can create a tick barrier. Since ticks pick up Lyme disease from mice, eliminate any mice habitats on your property. It won’t hurt to keep deer out of your yard with a deer fence either.
Be Smart about How You Dress
How you dress when you’re outside can influence your level of risk of getting bitten by ticks. Wear clothing with long sleeves and long pants. Tuck your pant legs into your socks and shoes. It might look a little funny, but it does a better job of keeping ticks away from your skin. Clothing that has been treated with permethrin can be a good choice.
Use a Good Insect Repellent
You’ve probably heard people recommend using insect repellents with DEET for mosquitoes. DEET repellents work well for repelling ticks too. It’s generally considered safe to apply to the skin of adults and children above the age of 3. It should be applied every 2-3 hours in warm weather to be effective. Spray it directly onto exposed skin and allow it to dry.
It’s far better to reduce your risk of dealing with a tick bite than to have to treat one. Still, make sure you know how to treat one as well. It’s not something you’ll want to research when you have one of the nasty little things already on you. Aside from that, treating a tick bite as quickly as possible reduces your risk of transmitting a tick-borne illness. In this case, proper preparation and prevention is by far better the better option.
Ticks are just one of the pests you can count on Proterra Pest Control to deal with for you. Click here to see our library of pests that we help Washington homeowners with today.
