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Tick Bites Are Deadly Serious: Five Ways to Prevent Them
You may be wondering what the deal is with the shoes and what they have to do with the ticks. That photo is actually one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. A nine-year-old boy in my son’s Little League just died from a tick bite. He pitched a game on Thursday, and by Sunday, he was dead. It’s a sobering reminder that we never know how much time we have on this earth. They held a memorial service for him at the ball field, where they placed his shoes on the pitcher’s mound.
Meanwhile, a friend’s mother is battling an aggressive form of Lyme Disease. There are numerous diseases caused by ticks, and they are becoming more dangerous than ever. From what I’m seeing in Tennessee, this may be the deadliest tick summer in recent memory.
Please take tick prevention seriously. This is a short and fast guide to help you stay safe this summer.
Don’t Waste Your Time with Hippy Crap
There are numerous “natural” tick repellants on the market, usually based on essential oils like citronella or peppermint. I’ve tried them all, and I have never found such natural products effective. I completely understand the desire to minimize exposure to toxic chemicals. I try to limit my family’s exposure to endocrine disruptors. We try to eat mostly local and organic food, avoid seed oils, and so on. But when it comes to tick-borne diseases, the risks are well worth the reward.
Would you rather deal with a small amount of synthetic chemical on your skin or not be able to eat red meat again? Or endure constant joint pain? Or deal with years of fatigue? Or just straight-up die?
That said, oil of lemon eucalyptus is the only plant-based repellent registered with the EPA for tick protection, but it must be reapplied more often.
Mowing
Your single best defense against ticks around your home is to keep your lawn neatly trimmed. Hippies love to ask, “Why do we even need yards, man? Just let the natural plants grow!” I used to be that hippy, and my kids and I were always getting ticks when we went outside. Now I get my yard professionally mowed every couple of weeks, and guess what? No more ticks unless we venture into the wilder lands around our yard.
It’s simple: Short grass means little to no habitat for ticks. So trim up that yard! Either invest in a good mower or do it yourself. Put that scythe away, Jebediah, it won’t cut the grass short enough to keep ticks at bay.
Other authorities recommend things like wood chip barriers between your yard and wooded areas, spraying the yard with chemicals, or placing tick tubes to trap ticks. Those are certainly worth investigating if mowing is insufficient, but I haven’t found them necessary, and my yard is surrounded by several acres of woods.
DEET or Picaridin
Yard maintenance is a good preventative, but as outdoorsmen, we often venture out from our yards. The easiest way to prevent ticks on the go is to treat yourself with a fast-acting tick repellent. I recommend buying several bottles or cans and keeping them in your vehicles, field packs, and by the doors so they’re always handy and you remember to spray yourself.
The two most common options are DEET and Picaridin. Let’s explore pros and cons of each.
DEET
DEET is the old standard for insect repellents, developed by the U.S. Army in 1946. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has studied it extensively and has found it safe for people of all ages, though it can cause skin irritation and can sometimes provoke adverse reactions (true of any substance). However, I personally find that DEET makes me feel a bit nauseous, so I prefer Picardin.
Take a careful look at the product label. For maximum tick protection, you want at least 30% concentration. However, concentrations higher than 50% will likely add no further protection, but can cause additional skin irritation.
DEET has some other drawbacks: It’s greasy and has a strong smell. It can also damage plastics, such as those in synthetic clothing or in sunglasses.
DEET Pros
- Highly effective and well-studied
- Cheap
DEET Cons
- Greasy
- Smelly
- Can cause skin irritation
- Can damage plastics, like fabrics and sunglasses
Picaridin
No, it’s not named after Captain Picard. Picaridin has proven in studies to be as effective as DEET, especially in a 20% or higher concentration, but without the strong smell or greasy feel. It was developed by Bayer in the 1980s, and is my personal preference. Unlike DEET it doesn’t damage plastics or make me feel queasy. It’s slightly more expensive and slightly harder to find than DEET products, but provides effective tick prevention in a more pleasant package.
Picaridin Pros
- Effective
- No strong smell
- Safe for plastics
- No greasy feel
Picaridin Cons
- Not as well studied as DEET
- Slightly more expensive
- Not as many products as DEET
Permethrin
Permethrin is a completely different sort of insect repellent. It goes on your clothes, not your skin. Once dried, it provides weeks of protection against ticks and other insects, even through multiple washings. It’s not just a repellent, but an insecticide, and topical forms are used to treat scabies and lice.
Many authorities recommend wearing long sleeves and tucking in your clothes to prevent ticks. However, long sleeves in summer heat can be a threat of their own, and even if ticks can’t crawl up your pants leg, they can climb up over your clothes and attach themselves right to your head, assuming your clothes even stay tucked in. Permethrin neatly solves the clothing problem.
Sounds great, right? There’s one big drawback: While wet, it is deadly to cats, so if you’re going to apply it to your clothing, you need to keep Tabby far away. I’ve successfully treated clothing in a closed bathroom, taking care to keep the cat out.
Another issue with Permethrin is that it is highly toxic to aquatic life. It should be fine on your clothes, just treat them before you go fishing.
Permethrin pros:
- You don’t have to apply it every time
- Stays with your clothes
- Long-lasting
Permethrin cons:
- You need to think ahead
- You need to set aside specific outdoor clothes
- Hazardous to cats and aquatic life
4. Treat Your Pets
Here’s an obvious one that’s easy to overlook: Keep your pets from dragging ticks into the house. There are a number of both oral and topical medications you can give your dog or cat to keep ticks and fleas at bay, and they are a must to keep those little buggers out of your house. Talk to your vet about the best options.
5. Chickens and Guineas
Finally, if you’re fed up with both ticks and the cost of eggs, consider adding some birds to your yard. Free-range chickens are effective tick eaters. Guineas even more so, but they’re kind of mean and their eggs are weird. However, the tick-eating powers of guineas have made them more popular over the years—you can often buy guinea chicks at Tractor Supply. While not a complete solution, poultry can contribute to tick control in conjunction with other strategies.
Of course, both require a certain degree of infrastructure, and both can cause their own problems, but they do help control the tick problem. Just keep the raccoons away.
If these tips don’t work and you get a tick anyway, be sure to check out our guide to removing ticks.
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