Beware of Ticks!

Photo By Consumer Reports.org

Are you afraid of ticks? If not, maybe you should be...

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time hiking through preserves, parks, and wild life refuges. Often, I find signs warning about ticks. One particular location I visited two weeks ago, the Connetquot Preserve, had tick warning signs every few feet along the trail in addition to pamphlets instructing on the proper removal of ticks. I tried laughing it all off... pshhh, all of this has to be exaggerated... But in the back of my head, I knew the threat was very real. A few years ago, a few close relatives of mine caught the tick-borne illness, Lyme disease, which had a devastating, long-lasting impact on their lives.

Yesterday, after a conversation with my parents about my recent wildlife adventures, I received yet another warning, this time verbal, in regards to ticks. So, I took it upon myself to do some Googling. What I found below is a harrowing, personal account apart of a larger post focused on ticks and ticks prevention:

“It can be hard to understand the importance of vigilance until you’ve dealt with tick-borne disease first hand. Until you’ve been bedridden for months, or years, with what feels like a combination of the flu and a hangover; until you’ve wrestled such severe insomnia that you’re almost driven to suicide; until you’ve battled brain fog so pervasive that it leaves you at a loss for words. “ - Jennifer Crystal, Global Lyme Alliance

Oh. My. God. If those words don’t scare someone straight, I’m not sure what will.

I’m enjoying my new adventures of endless walking and exploring nature. But, oh my god.... do I need to be more careful.

By Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Beyond offering a scare, the post lists off useful ways to avoid ticks. Wear long pants. (Thus far, I’ve been guilty of wearing shorts in tick laden areas... a big oops. ) Use the correct bug spray. (I haven’t consistently been using bug spray.... and when I have, I’m not sure if it’s the strongest against ticks, as it should be.) Check your clothes before going back into your house and throw them immediately into the wash. (This is certainly something I have not been doing...) Apparently, ticks can cling onto your clothes and follow you indoors... Yikes. My father said that once happened to his brother when he was a kid. To his mother’s horror, they found a group of ticks crawling up a wall inside their house shortly after a camping trip.

It’s worth mentioning that the author of the post now avoids nature (and the threat of ticks) altogether. Opting to keep a healthy distance on bike trails set far apart from the brush. I don’t think I need to take such an extreme measure to be safe. But I don’t blame the woman for the choice... given her traumatic past experiences with ticks.

Life is all about about risk vs reward. In the case of ticks and exploring nature, I pledge to be more careful. The warning signs are the real deal. And there are steps I can follow to reduce the risk ticks present. At the very least, I will follow them. I owe that much to myself.