Campgrounds Are The Perfect Storm For Tick Infestations

Ticks love camping – who knew?

Campgrounds are a perfect storm for tick infestations. They didn’t get that outdoor adventurer gene from me, but my kids love to go camping. Especially my daughter, her husband, and their young daughter. So recently we took one for the team and joined them. My wife joined them in the tent. I slept in the car – and not well.

Ticks love camping! Campgrounds are perfect storms for tick infestations. — Ticks love camping – or they love that you love camping!

After an enjoyable outdoor fireside breakfast of sunny side up eggs, warmed over brioche buns, and instant coffee we ventured back to our respective homes. My entire family knows what it takes to be tick aware, so as soon as we got back home, my wife and I headed to the shower.

As she was washing her legs she noticed a teeny black spec on top on her right foot. After further inspection, it confirmed her worst fear. A tick was burrowing into her skin. Luckily, I was in the bathroom with her and immediately went to the drawer that had needle-nose tweezers in it. Trying to be as gentle as I could – and yet still capture that tiny beast – I successfully removed it and gave it a proper burial at sea. After being squished in nearby tissue paper, I flushed it down the toilet.

How To Remove A Tick

remove tick with tweezer — Remove the tick with tweezers.

For a more clinical, pragmatic method, here is what The Centers for Disease Control Recommends on how to remove a tick:

If you find a tick attached to your skin, simply remove the tick as soon as possible. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers works very well.

To Remove A Tick

Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you cannot remove the mouth easily with tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by:

Putting it in alcohol
Placing it in a sealed bag/container
Wrapping it tightly in tape or
Flushing it down the toilet

Get Rid Of Ticks At Home with Ipswich Tick Control

tick control tubes When camping, ticks dry up easily so they prefer shady, wet areas. While you might also prefer some shade over your tent, you’ll be able to avoid ticks better if you set up camp in a sunny area. They also like to hide in tall grass or piles of leaves, so pitching your tent in a cleared area will prevent ticks.

The same variables apply to your backyard, especially it the perimeter has tall grasses and wood piles where moisture lurks well after rainstorms and irrigation watering.

If you want dependable, proven tick control, contact your local tick control specialist. Be sure that your tick control service sprays your yard and surrounds your property with tick tubes. This tick double-trouble control and elimination method will ensure it’s one less thing you’ll have to worry about.

What Deer Hunting Season Tells Us About the Spread of Tick and Mosquito Diseases

Deer hunting is underway in Massachusetts. Some Northeastern states are getting a glimpse of the real threat of disease-carrying ticks. But that’s not all.

Whether you are a fan of deer hunting or not, tagging stations are offering insight into the spread of ticks across the Northeastern United States. Right now in York County, Maine, researchers are spread out between deer tagging stations. Their goal is to collect and identify ticks from deer carcasses and to also obtain blood samples to test for mosquito-borne illnesses, like EEE.

What does deer hunting tell us about ticks?

Tick populations have reached record numbers.

Hunters in the Northeast report that they are seeing more ticks on their trips into the wooded wilderness than ever before. Some avid small game hunters are even skipping those seasons due to the increase in tick encounters. In years past, you might find a tick or two during your hunt. Today, it is reported that your hunting trip will undoubtedly bring you in direct contact with ticks – plural. It’s not if but when.

Like Massachusetts, York County, Maine, is a hotbed for Lyme-carrying ticks these days. Deer ticks were first found in Maine in 1980. But unlike some Massachusetts locales, they have not yet reported lone star ticks, which carry a variety of tick-borne illnesses other than Lyme disease. However, experts believe it’s only a matter of time before these ticks arrive on the scene. It is more important than ever that hunters, hikers, and campers protect themselves. The best personal protection methods include wearing treated clothing to repel ticks.

Warmer winters mean more ticks, new ticks, and even new mosquito diseases.

The researchers at Maine deer tagging stations are out to identify mosquito-borne illnesses too. Blood samples are being taken from deer in hopes of identifying the prevalence of mosquito diseases, such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile virus. The state’s only reported case of EEE this year was in York County. Massachusetts has had no reports of Eastern Equine Encephalitis so far in 2021. There were a few cases of West Nile virus in Massachusetts this year, but because of drought-like conditions from last fall through spring, even those cases began reporting later into the year than normal. Effective mosquito control must be given credit for the decrease in potentially deadly cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

Tick control is a year-round concern.

Due to warmer winters in Massachusetts, ticks can and do quest even during the winter months. It is possible to be bitten by a tick in the fall and winter, and we should be concerned with ample protection during those months. Fortunately, reputable tick control professionals offer ‘out-of-season‘ methods of tick protection by way of tick tubes.

Dave Macchia, tick control enthusiast — Dave Macchia, Central Mass tick control enthusiast

You can take personal protection measures while hunting or hiking this time of year, and leave the at-home protection to the pros!

Tag: camping