3 Tips for Avoiding Tick Bites and Lyme Disease
Aside from the controversy about whether "chronic Lyme disease" exists, the basics are pretty much undisputed: If you get bitten by a tick, the possibility does exist that you may end up developing Lyme disease. Fortunately, it's easily treatable with antibiotics when it's caught quickly. If you get a characteristic bull's-eye rash, a Lyme diagnosis is likely—though not everyone with Lyme gets this rash.
The best way to avoid Lyme disease is to protect yourself from tick bites, advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here is the agency's advice on how to stay tick free:
• Use DEET or permethrin insect repellent. DEET can be used either on clothing or skin, but permethrin should be applied only to articles of clothing such as pants, socks, and shoes.
• Remove ticks from your clothing, and do "tick checks" after being outside. Look for ticks on your skin and clothing before returning indoors—and remove them promptly. Use fine-tipped tweezers to pull the bugs from your skin. If you spot a tick on your skin and remove it within 24 hours, the chances you'll end up with Lyme disease are slim.
• Consider using pesticides to eliminate ticks near your home. One application of pesticides called acaricides at the end of May or early June can decrease tick populations by 68 to 100 percent, tests show.
Reader Comments
Guinea Fowl
As someone with first hand experience raising Guinea Fowl, I can say that they do extremely well with respect to predators. There are very few losses, as these are smart birds. They are NOT like chickens in this respect. They travel as a flock, and one bird always will perch above the group to act as a look-out. It is nearly impossible for anything to sneak up on the flock without the flock sounding their alarm. (That is the downside, they are noisy birds) At night, they will roost in trees for safety. They do not need much if any shelter, even in the cold winters of New England. Just food and water, and they are all set.
Damminix
Get tick tubes (www.ticktubes.com). You can rid your property of ticks without having to spray.... much more eco-friendly. Keep your grass short, too. Installing Guinea fowl sounds cute, but they wouldn't stand a chance against predators such as (in my area) raccoons.
Deer Tick Preventative for your property:
If you are worried about being exposed to Lyme disease carrying deer ticks, you may want to treat your yard with Tick Tubes. The product has been around for 20 years and is very effective. Rather than treating yourself to a dose of deet or permethrin, you can use Damminix Tick Tubes to kill ticks on mice with permethrin cotton - http://www.ticktubes.com
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