Photo Credit: Valerie via Flickr.com
The weather is warming up and many people will be, once again, hitting the trails, bike paths, and dog parks. Even though your outdoor activity of choice might not appear to be dangerous, there are tiny-sized dangers lurking in the woods. Insects such as mosquitoes, horseflies, and ticks often look to warm-blooded mammals for nutrients and can cause illnesses like Lyme Disease and Malaria. Ticks, this season, might be especially prevalent because a warm winter decreases the rodent population, forcing ticks to search for alternate hosts- making our pets, and us, good targets- YUCK!
Fortunately, our friends at Insect Shield have some simple tips and an arsenal of outdoor gear to keep your family and pets safe from these little critters:
Divert The Ticks: Ticks like to live in shaded places with high humidity, your yard won’t be much of a danger unless it borders wooded areas. If it does, create an attractive place for ticks to live, by placing wood chips between your yard and the wooded area. This insures they will stay away from your yard, house, family, and pets.
Periodic Tick Checks: If on a long hike or getting home from a day outdoors, check yourself, family, and pets for ticks. Wearing light-colored clothing will make it easier to spot the black insects.
Stay on the Beaten Path: Do your best to stay in the center of the trail when hiking, bike, walking, etc. Avoid sitting directly on the ground, woodpiles, or fallen trees, as crawling is the only ways ticks can get to you.
Personal Protection: Wear tick repellant clothing. Insect Shield’s EPA registered repellent clothing can not only repel ticks but a number of other pesky insects like ants, fleas, chiggers, midges, mosquitoes, and even flies! They have apparel for adults, kids, and even dogs with no restrictions for use protecting your family from Lyme disease and other insect-borne diseases.
So why are Insect Shield products so great?
- The repellency is odorless and invisible, you won’t even notice it
- Repellency is in the clothing and gear – not on your skin
- Lasts through 70 launderings
- Nothing to Reapply, so you know you’re always protected
- Extensive product line including clothing and accessories for hunting, fishing, hiking, gardening, work wear, general outdoor activities, pets, and even our Military
- They also have camping and patio equipment with the same great protection like chairs, hammocks, tents, bunk sacks, etc
For more information, visit http://www.insectshield.com/Default.aspx
