Unfortunately, I’m no stranger to ticks. Living in a rural area and often in forests and woods, I have been in contact with ticks much too often. They are easily concealed on plants and areas you will rarely see until they are on your body or clothes. Keeping safe and separated from ticks will make your camping trip much more enjoyable.
What are Ticks and What Issues do They Cause?
Ticks are small insects that can be classified as arthropods and further classified as arachnids and who cares, really? I don’t. I could care less which sub-species or classification of which they belong. I could care less that migrate during warmer months and search for warm-blooded animals. I could care less that the prevalence of Deer Ticks that carry Lyme Disease has come to prevalence as recent as the 1980s and there are over 42,000 cases each year in the US. All I know is I don’t want it or need it, and I most definitely do not need ticks on, in, or around me or my stuff.
Where Are They?
Ticks are all over the wilderness. In grassy areas, on plants, trees, and shrubs. Constantly searching for the next victim. These little crawlers love waiting for an animal or human to pass by and brush up against the plant so they may be able to hitch a ride until they can burrow their head into the host’s skin. They crawl on the ground and hitch onto the sole of your show and or the foot of an animal. The worst feeling is when you are trying to sleep in a tent, and you wake up only to find ticks on your body.
Issues They Cause
Ticks can cause several issues after a bite. Rarely, will you feel the bite of a tick. They silently crawl onto your clothes and skin, and slowly bite and bury their head into your skin to attach themselves. Once there, they can transmit several different diseases and none of them are fun. They can cause a myriad of symptoms, and some are difficult to identify even for professional healthcare staff or physicians. Saving the CDC link to your phone can help when you are on your camping trip to be used as a quick reference in the event of developing symptoms. I had a close friend develop Lyme Disease and it took almost a full month before she was properly diagnosed, due to the obscure symptom presentation.
Prevention
Preventing ticks from biting or attaching to your skin is the goal of prevention. There are several well-known tips to follow to keep you and your stuff tick free. See the list below to keep your body safe as well as your campsite.
- Wearing long sleeves and pants that aren’t loose fitting
- Keeping pants legs tucked into socks
- Refraining from very thick brushy areas or high grasses and weeds
- Using a ground spray around your campsite
- Using ground cover under your tent
Wearing Long Sleeves and Pants
While wearing long sleeves and pants when camping seems like common sense to most people, it can be bothersome at times. Camping in higher temps during the summer can certainly deter the average camper from wearing long sleeves and pants. While most of the time it’s safe enough to do when in areas that are known to have high concentrations of ticks, it’s best to find breathable lightweight clothing that can cover your arms and legs. These are the most common areas ticks will hitch a ride and later burrow themselves into your skin in a few common areas.
Keeping Pants Tucked Into Your Socks
Again, another uncomfortable practice but very useful. Shoes and pants legs seem to be the most common area that ticks would hitch a ride, slowly crawl up and attach themselves. Too often people find ticks after getting undressed, attached to the skin on their legs. Ticks will crawl from the bottom of the pant leg most often when this occurs. Keeping closed pants legs (tucked into socks) can be a largely effective prevention measure.
Using an Insect Repellent With Over 20% DEET
In the past, there has been controversy over the safety of DEET. Numerous peer-reviewed studies have been conducted and largely found DEET to be safe for public use, within reason. Using DEET properly can be safe for you. Keep it within sensible, appropriate amounts when applying, avoid eyes, mouth, and open wounds, as well as not using it day after day consistently and the overwhelming majority of people have no issues. It’s very simple to search and find information on the conducted studies online, so don’t just take my word for it. While there are several options and natural options for repellents, DEET is the most convenient and readily available product that seems to be the most effective. Some of the stronger concentrations may not be necessary but do seem to last longer. I have included a table below from EWG.org covering their opinions of insect repellents.
| Repellent Chemical | General Effectiveness* | Pros* | Cons* |
| Picaridin | A 5-10% concentration can protect against ticks and mosquitoes for five to 12 hours. A 20% concentration product provides all-day protection from mosquitoes and ticks. | * Odorless * Non-irritating * Does not melt plastic * No known major health concerns | *Most recently EPA-approved active ingredient, which means less time on the market compared to other ingredients *Less extensive safety testing than DEET |
| DEET | A less than 10% concentration can protect against ticks and mosquitos for one to two hours. A 20 to 30% concentration product provides all-day protection from mosquitoes and ticks. | * Effective against a wide range of pests * Widely used with few serious adverse reactions * Concentrations of 10 to 30% provide lasting protection against many species | * Need to limit concentration used on children * Strong eye irritant * Melts some plastic and damages some fabrics * In a few cases neurological symptoms have been reported * Avoid products with more than 30% DEET – try time-release products when you need multi-hour protection |
| IR3535 | A 20% concentration can provide eight hours of mosquito protection and six to 12 hours of tick protection. | * Structurally similar to amino acid alanine * Long presence on the European market * Good safety profile | * Concentrations less than 10% may not be effective * Avoid brands with added sunscreen * Serious eye irritant * Melts some plastic and damages some fabrics |
Refraining From Brushy Areas or High Grasses and Weeds
Staying away from brushy areas and high grasses isn’t always possible when camping or hiking. Keeping that mindset to stay away from these areas, when possible, will help reduce the risk drastically. As mentioned earlier, ticks normally will grab skin, hair, or clothing when the camper brushes against the plant. While the presence of grass doesn’t increase the prevalence of ticks, walking thru higher grasses and weeds can allow ticks to attach to your clothes more easily. Shoes and boots can be harder attachment materials, but pants materials tend to provide a better surface for attachment.
Using a Ground Spray Around Campsite
Keeping ticks away from the campsite, where you may spend most of your time when camping, can be a great way to prevent tick bites. There are numerous products available, but when using larger amounts, it may be best to choose a safer, natural product. Again, lots of companies capitalize on the natural and organic markets, so several choices are available. Cedarcide makes a very safe product. This product has a wide market, and most people use it in their yards at home. It’s designed to cover larger areas of the ground. Again, this is only one product do your research, lots of essential oils can also repel ticks, such as lemon oils, eucalyptus, peppermint oils, and others. Solutions and recipes of water and essential oils are available online to help repel ticks.
Use a Ground Cover Under and Around Your Tent
Tarps make great ground covers under tents. Be sure you have one that is large enough to cover the area around your tent as well. This will not totally prevent ticks from making it onto and inside your tent, but it will help to be able to see them as they get closer to your tent. A lighter color tarp such as white works great for this. Synthetic Polymer type tarps are great for this specific use because they can be cleaned easily and fold easily when breaking down and packing up the campsite. Keeping a small broom near your tent and sweeping the debris off the tarp can help reduce the camouflage of the ticks to be able to see them as they may try to crawl near your tent.
Should You Use an Air Mattress on Your Next Camping Trip?
Encourage Kids to Go Camping While They Are Young!
Using Insect and Tick Repellents Safely (psu.edu)
Mosquito and Tick Repellents (arizona.edu)
Tick and Mosquito Repellent Safety—for You and Yours | New York State IPM Program (cornell.edu)
Essential oils as tick repellents on clothing | SpringerLink