An estimated 300,000 people in the country are affected by Lyme disease every year and there can hardly be a hiker or trekker that has not been bitten by one. Before they start, most hikers and campers are aware of all possible risks that they may have to face on the trails and by default take enough measures for the prevention of Lyme disease. If you are new to hiking and camping, taking steps to prevent Lyme disease due to tick bites is something that you will always be thankful for as you just cannot brush this tick off that easily. Herein, we provide some tips that will help you avoid those pesky ticks out camping and ensure the prevention of Lyme disease.

1. Watch where you walk and set up camp
Lyme disease is caused by black-legged ticks that live in moist and humid places. Therefore, it is quite likely that when you walk through grass, leaves, and trees, they could attach to your shirts, trousers, or shoes. Always walk in the center of the trail where it is likely to be drier and devoid of grass. You also must avoid walking through dense vegetation or push through heavy branches of low-lying trees.

You must set your tents in places where there is less grass or preferably scope for direct sunlight. Wearing full-sleeved shirts, trousers, caps, socks, and boots will make sure that ticks cannot reach your skin easily.

3. Perform tick checks
Ticks tend to crawl upwards; so, once they attach to your clothing, they tend to crawl upward and can settle in your groin, neck, and armpits. At the end of every day, you must do a tick check, both in your clothing and body. Use a mirror and check your arms, heads, navel, back of the knees, back of the ears, waist, in and around the head and body hair. If you have children hiking or camping with you, you should do the same for them.

4. Use bug repellants
You must start your day applying tick repellent creams and sprays. There are many products certified by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) that are safe for children and adults. The EPA’s website has a search tool that allows you to look for products that are safe and effective. This is critical for the prevention of Lyme disease.

It helps to treat all your gear, clothing, and accessories with 0.5% permethrin. This protects your gear even after washing. Some hiking gear that is pretreated with permethrin is also available. It’s critical to remember that permethrin should be applied to gear and clothing, and not on the skin directly.

5. Tick removal
If you find ticks in your clothing and gear, you can remove them with a pair of tweezers. If you find one on your body, you must apply antiseptic lotion in that area and remove one by one very carefully using a pair of tweezers. It’s important to pull it steadily and yanked it out. If there are parts of the tick on your skin, you must use a sterilized needle to remove it completely.

More importantly, when you go back home, having a hot shower and washing every bit of clothing and placing them on high heat so that the ticks are destroyed will immensely help in the prevention of Lyme disease.

You must watch out for symptoms even after your hike or trail is over because the symptoms and rashes might show even a month after a tick bite. Prevention of Lyme disease is of the utmost importance when it comes to taking the measures mentioned above. So, enjoy your time while exploring nature and stay safe.