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Presented with support from Brynje  |
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The four layers of tick bite prevention. In the late 1990s, I was bitten by a Rocky Mountain Wood Tick while spring backpacking in Montana. After several months of saddleback fevers and meningitis-like symptoms, I was finally diagnosed with Colorado Tick Fever (go figure). Since then, I've been more careful about tick prevention strategies. I haven't completely avoided contact with ticks (or tick bites), but tick prevention is now an active part of my backpacking skill set. Tick prevention is often reduced to three things: use repellent, wear long pants, and check yourself at night. These are the basics, but backpackers should treat tick prevention as a layered exposure-control system: The first layer is ecological awareness. Tick risk is not determined only by region or season. It varies with tick species, life stage, host animals, humidity, vegetation, temperature, and human behavior. Low-elevation approaches, brushy trail corridors, meadow edges, riparian vegetation, forest duff, and deer-used campsites can create repeated opportunities for contact. Open, dry, exposed terrain may present a different risk profile from that of the approach trail used to reach it. The second layer is treated clothing. The strongest field evidence supports permethrin-treated garments. In a two-year randomized trial among outdoor workers in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts, factory-treated clothing reduced tick bites by 65% in the first year and 50% in the second year. For backpackers, the lower-body system deserves priority: treated socks, shoes, pants, cuffs, and gaiters. Ticks usually contact the hiker from below. The third layer is exposed-skin protection. Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, OLE/PMD, or 2-undecanone are effective and well-established, but review the label to understand the duration of protection. Note: generic essential oils, homemade blends, naturopathic salves, “natural tick balms,” and products without EPA registration have not been shown to have meaningful protection against tick bites. The fourth layer is behavior. Avoid sitting in leaf litter. Do not stage packs in brush. Stay centered on the trail when practical. Inspect after brushy sections, before shelter entry, and before sleep. Carry fine-tipped tweezers and remove attached ticks immediately. Spring backpacking season is here, and so is tick season. And mosquito season is right around the corner! Be prepared with a few strategic mitigation options:
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Also this weekNew tent release: DCF, freestanding, solo dome, 29 ounces. |
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Originally sent as a Backpacking Light email newsletter. Subscribe to the Backpacking Light newsletter | Affiliate disclosure |
