Tick Safe Hunting Practices: Preparing for Tick Habitat

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- Staying safe is an important part of hunting.

As a hunter, you make sure to wear blaze orange, follow hunting restrictions and guidelines, and are proficient with your weapon.

But did you know that tick bites are a safety hazard as well?

As Lyme disease and other tick-borne disease cases continue to rise in the United States, keeping you, your family, and your pets safe from tick bites should be standard safe hunting practice.

Here are five simple steps you can take to help prevent tick bites and stay safer from ticks.

Recognizing tick habitat, wearing the right clothes to prevent bites, wearing clothes the right way, pre-treating your clothes with permethrin, applying a tick and insect repellent when you go outdoors.

The first step is recognizing when you are going into tick habitat so you can prepare to reduce tick bites.

Ticks are active year-round, and whether you are hunting in a field or the woods, you are likely going to be in tick habitat.

Most tick species are common in wooded areas, especially those areas with a lot of undergrowth and leaf litter.

They can also be found in areas with tall grasses.

Ticks often climb onto plants to quest or search for hosts.

So walking along trails and avoiding brushing against plants can help reduce the number of ticks you encounter.

The second step you can take to prepare for tick habitat is wearing the right clothes.

You likely already wear the right gear for hunting, such as camouflage outerwear and blaze orange.

But to prevent tick bites, you want to think about what goes under your hunting gear.

To give yourself an added layer of protection against ticks, wear long pants and long-sleeve shirts.

This is likely not a challenge during the late fall and winter months, but it may be something to think about during the warmer days of early fall or spring.

White colored clothing can help you see ticks that may have wandered under your outerwear.

So keep the dark camouflage colors for your outer layers and wear colors like tan or white underneath.

While not required for every hunting season, wearing blaze orange camo instead of traditional camo can also help you spot ticks crawling over your clothing.

Even the style of footwear can make a difference.

Wearing taller boots and boots without laces will eliminate ways ticks can get to your skin.

Now that you are wearing the right clothes, let's talk about step three, wearing clothes the right way.

Ticks cannot fly, nor do they fall from trees.

Instead, they can crawl from the ground onto your boots or grab you as you walk past plants like grasses or shrubs.

To prevent ticks from having access to your skin after they have climbed onto you, tuck your pants into your socks and your shirt into your pants to reduce access points.

While using steps one through three can reduce your risk of tick bites, you can also add step four, treating your clothes with permethrin.

Clothes, including pants, socks, shirts, and shoes can all be treated with clothing specific products containing permethrin.

Permethrin is a synthetic version of a natural compound derived from a chrysanthemum plant.

When clothes are treated with permethrin meant for fabric, the chemical binds to the fibers and acts as a toxicant and repellent to ticks.

Once it dries, treated clothing is odorless and won't alert game animals through smells.

When applied according to label directions, the product does not leave a residue or a stain on clothing.

You can send your hunting gear like clothes, tick gaiters, and boots to be professionally treated by a company, or you can treat your own gear with permethrin at home.

If treating clothing at home, keep in mind that only some permethrin containing products are labeled for treating clothing and other gear.

Do not apply products that contain permethrin but are not labeled for clothing application.

Be sure you follow label directions spray both sides of the fabric and apply it in a well-ventilated area.

Wearing a tick and insect repellent is another way to prevent tick bites.

First, your choice of repellent should be EPA registered.

This will give you peace of mind knowing that they have been rigorously tested and demonstrated to be effective and low risk.

EPA registration will be listed on the product label.

When choosing a repellent, look for common active ingredients like DEET, picaridin, oil lemon eucalyptus, and IR3535.

When applying a repellent, avoid spraying around the eyes, mouth, and nose.

Insect repellents can be applied to both clothing and skin and don't forget to spray the back of your neck and hats.

Now you know some steps you can take to prevent tick bites before you go hunting.

I hope you feel more prepared to protect yourself from bites this hunting season.