Some people have become so afraid of ticks they will never step outside onto grass or into the woods for fear of getting a tick-borne disease. Even just putting up this post may scare some folks away, but we think it’s better to operate from a place of knowledge than ignorance, confidence over fear, so we’re sharing with you what we know. 

Because if we handed Draco Hill over to a fear of ticks, it would cause mayhem. Chickens would die, orchards would be overrun with weeds, trails would be impassable. Well, maybe it wouldn’t matter, because no one would be here to enjoy what nature offers (besides ticks)!

Instead, we choose to do our best to reduce our risk of getting a tick bite. 

Main principles:

• Know that ticks crawl UP. So tuck pants into socks and shirts into pants. That leaves just one place left to check for them –  your head!
• Wear light-colored clothes to see them more easily. If you’re so inclined, some outdoor companies make clothing that has bug repellent built in. We use that when we’re working in the woods all day but always shower afterwards.
• Stay on trails and out of tall grasses where they love to hang on the ends, swaying in the breeze and waiting to hitch a ride from you. 
• Do a tick check every night. If you have a romantic partner, have some fun with it! If not, a hand-held mirror or just very carefully running over your whole body with your hands should do it. 

You may still pick up a tick! We’ve pulled quite a few off of us so we know how scary that can be. So we’re pasting a graphic here that includes the two major ticks in Iowa. The larger one with the white spot on its back? No problem. Pull all of it straight off with your fingernails and you should be good. That’s the “American Dog Tick” and it doesn’t carry diseases that harm humans, according to the latest literature. The tinier ones that are all black or have a copper-colored oval on the back? That’s more likely a “deer tick” or Blacklegged Tick and they do transmit Lyme Disease. (Not “Lyme’s.” It’s named after a town in Connecticut called Lyme where it was first discovered.) Pull that one off too! 

Now, get to a QuickCare, doc-in-a-box place and they’ll give you a double dose of a strong antibiotic. That should knock out anything you might’ve gotten, but only if you take it within 36 hours of the bite. Don’t wait. You can check for a red target around the bite but that shows up only about 60 percent of the time. 

So please, come enjoy the outdoors! There’s so much to see, hear, smell and feel. Just be smart and do your tick check every night. See you soon!