How to protect yourself from ticks in nature using folk remedies

With the arrival of warmer weather, people increasingly take walks through forest parks, sit with fishing rods on the shores of lakes among reeds and tall grass, pick flowers in grassy meadows, and harvest medicinal herbs in forests and groves. Many of them know that the end of spring and beginning of summer is the time of greatest activity for a variety of insects, including ticks. At this time, people know about 54 thousand species of ticks. So, how can you protect yourself from ticks in nature?

The harmfulness of ticks to animals, birds and people has been known for a long time. Since then, there has been a continuous struggle with them. In the time of Aristotle, ticks parasitizing dogs were fought with the help of sulfur. The Chinese physician Chao Yuan Fang (550-630 AD) treated scabies on the basis that it was caused by small, invisible mites that parasitized the human body.

What types of mites are there?

Not all members of the tick group are dangerous to people and pets. But still, scientists count 25 species of ticks that you need to watch out for. Indeed, in addition to causing obvious harm, ticks carry various infectious and parasitic (infections with worms and similar organisms) diseases.

How to protect yourself from ticks in nature. The mites that humans have to deal with can be both blood-sucking parasites and saprophagous mites, which do not live on a living creature, but live in the soil and feed on plant sap. Varieties of saprophages have adapted to certain food products - these are cheese, granary, and flour mites. Many mites live in places where dust accumulates in residential buildings along with people. These are dust or bed mites, the nutritional base of which is dead cells of the human epidermis, the pile of woolen blankets, carpets, blankets, and furniture upholstery.

Distribution areas

Ticks adapt very well to places where humans live. After cutting down the forest, they continue to live in their favorite place for years in the grass and bushes. Recently, they have taken root in many cities, hiding in parks, squares or unkempt places with tall grass. The main condition for the survival of these animals is constant moderate humidity.

In Russia

In Russia they live almost everywhere. Doctors diagnose the largest number of tick-borne encephalitis in Siberia and the Urals. At risk are residents of the Tver, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Leningrad regions and some areas of Moscow and the Moscow region.

Borreliosis most often affects residents of the Tomsk, Sverdlovsk, and Volgograd regions. Over the course of a year, more than 500 thousand visits to medical centers due to bites, both with and without complications, are registered in the Russian Federation.

Crimea, a popular summer holiday destination, is also home to infected parasites. You can read what types of them are common on the peninsula in this article...

In Belarus

In Belarus, the problem of tick bites has become particularly urgent in recent years, as new types of parasites that transmit encephalitis, not typical for this territory, have been identified. Due to this, the number of diseases caused by their bites has increased by 60%. The largest number of victims are from the Minsk, Brest and Grodno regions.

In Ukraine

Ukraine is a country rich in forests, so ticks have perfectly adapted to exist throughout the entire territory from West to East. And only the southern regions, due to their drier and hotter climate, are considered relatively safe. The largest number of complications in Ukraine is associated not with encephalitis, but with Lyme disease.

In Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, all infections with tick-borne encephalitis were recorded in 2 regions: Almaty and East Kazakhstan. According to statistics, the number of cases is quite small - 30 per year, so Kazakhstan can be considered relatively safe for both local residents and tourists. But in Kazakhstan the situation with karakurts is not very good.

Tick habitats

In Russia, ticks live in the forest climatic zone. Ticks are widespread in the northern and central countries of Western Europe and northern China. The habitats of ticks are areas of land covered with grass and low shrubs. These can be the edges of deciduous forests, meadows, clearings, shores of lakes and rivers, sunlit slopes. In coniferous forests, ticks prefer to settle in rubble of dry branches and litter. In places where there are no thickets of grass, there are practically no ticks.

How to protect yourself from ticks in nature. In populated areas where the grass on the roadsides is not mowed and there are piles of leaves and branches, it is easy to suffer from tick bites. On unmown lawns in cities, children and pets can become victims of blood-sucking ticks. Ticks need plant debris; they live in grass and climb it to a height of 1.5 m. The main concentration of ticks is in areas along roads and paths.

How to make your vacation outside the city safe?

If, with the arrival of stable warmth, you are going to leave the city and move to the dacha for some time, then it must be secured. How to do it? It's quite simple:

first of all, we clear the territory, removing all bushes, thickets of grass and piles of last year’s leaves;
We regularly mow the lawn - it’s too hot for ticks in short grass, and therefore they will immediately leave it;
we keep the patio with a veranda and playground clean, from time to time cutting off newly grown shoots of bushes and other dense vegetation

We really hope that these recommendations will help you make your outdoor recreation as safe as possible and protect you from attacks by harmful ticks.

Why is a tick dangerous?

How to protect yourself from ticks in nature. Dust mites do not feed on human blood, but can cause allergies in people. This may be a reaction of the human body to the waste products of these insects, to their bites, to the chitinous shell of dead ticks. Among the blood-sucking ticks, the most dangerous are:

Ixodid ticks are those that live in forests and are the main carriers of encephalitis.
Argasid mites - living in caves, grottoes, cracks in stones, sometimes they live near a person in a barn or other fairly warm room; attack mammals at night and can become a source of tick-borne relapsing fever.
Gamasid mites - feed on the blood of reptiles, birds, and mammals (including domestic ones).
Mouse mites - It is they, parasitizing on rodents, that can transmit the causative agent of smallpox rickettsiosis to humans.
Armored mites are intermediate hosts of tapeworms. They live in grass litter. Herbivores (sheep, goats) swallow ticks and helminth larvae inside them along with the grass.
Scabies mites - they gnaw passages in the skin layer and lay eggs; they parasitize mammals.

Read also the article: “Should children be vaccinated?”

Universal means

These products repel and, if they come into contact with treated clothing, completely neutralize ticks. Repellent acaricidal sprays and aerosols are effective against the strongest of them:

Moskitol Special Protection spray against ticks - the drug, after application to clothing, retains its properties for 15 days (when stored in a plastic bag) and up to 5 days with active wear.
Aerosol and spray Mosquitall “Protection against ticks in the wild” are products with proven effectiveness not only against these arachnids, but also against blood-sucking insects.
The kaput tick is a domestic variant that effectively affects the nervous system of ticks and repels many blood-sucking insects.

How to properly protect yourself from ticks in nature

How to properly remove a tick with tweezers
When planning a trip to the forest, lake, village in the summer, or going for a walk in a forested area, you should make sure that all measures have been taken to protect against ticks. First of all, you need to take repellents and tick removal equipment with you. These could be ordinary tweezers.

Safe clothing

Proper clothing for the forest
How to protect yourself from ticks in nature. The main protective factor for people will be their clothing. The cut of clothing should be such that there are no parts of the body that are too exposed. Shirts and dresses should have long sleeves, narrow or with buttoned cuffs. Collars should be straight and tight-fitting. The clothing set should include long trousers with elastic at the bottom edge of the legs. It is necessary to have a headdress covering the neck area, closed shoes, and thick socks.

Rules: how to dress for nature

Simple folk remedies

Before traveling, a person’s clothing and body are treated with protective drugs that can destroy or repel ticks. An important element of such products is the smell of the substances included in their composition. Almost all folk remedies for ticks are made on the basis of alcohol or vinegar with the addition of either birch tar, or vanillin, or some essential oils and sharp-smelling plants. Liquid formulations are prepared, which are then applied to the body and clothing using sprayers.

Essential oils and vinegar repel insects

Garlic spray against ticks

Garlic spray is prepared from 100 grams of alcohol-containing liquid and 5-7 cloves of peeled garlic. Garlic is grated or chopped in a blender. The pulp is combined with vodka or alcohol. The composition is allowed to brew for 12 hours. The mixture is filtered and thoroughly filtered. Apply to clothing with a spray bottle.

Vodka with vanilla against ticks

A similar product is obtained by mixing vanilla powder with vodka. For 150 g of liquid take 3 g of vanillin. The mixture is kept in a cool, dark place for a week. This product can be applied not only to clothing, but also to open areas of the body. Before use, you need to make sure that people who plan to use it are not allergic to the smell of vanilla.

Essential oils that repel ticks

You can add essential oils to ready-made body care gels, the smell of which repels ticks. Such essential oils include geranium, peppermint, eucalyptus, and lavender. The product may contain 50 g of aloe vera gel, 10 drops of geranium and lavender oil, 150 g of vegetable oil. The mixture is shaken well and used for application to the skin of the face, hands and other areas of the body.

The oils in any cream can be easily rubbed into the baby’s skin.

The aroma of the “Zvezdochka” balm has always been distinguished by its brightness and strength. A few drops of balm are added to 10 ml of liquid soap, mixed with 50 ml of apple cider vinegar and 200 ml of cold boiled water. All components are thoroughly mixed and used for application to the body. You can apply a composition based on cologne with the scent of cloves and a few drops of pharmaceutical tincture of valerian root to your clothes.

Anti-tick medications

Ready-made industrial anti-tick products are divided into 3 types based on their mode of action: those that simply repel insects - repellents, those that kill them - acaricides, and those that repel them and completely paralyze ticks - universal. All of them are used only for application to clothing. Before traveling to places where ticks may be present, it is necessary to check the effect of the odors of these products on a person and make sure that there is no individual intolerance to them.

Anti-tick aerosols “Picnic BIO Active”, “Picnic Extreme”, “Taiga”, “OFF Extreme” are popular. UltraThon lotion with applicator provides long-term protection against ticks, midges and mosquitoes. It is applied to the skin. This product was developed in the USA.

Do dogs get tick-borne infections?

Unfortunately, they get sick. Running through the forest, dogs easily pick up ticks on their fur, and after an hour or an hour and a half, the tick can become embedded. The incubation period in dogs, just like in humans, depends on the virulence of the virus, the dog’s immunity, etc.

Symptoms of the disease develop depending on the severity of the disease. In severe cases, symptoms develop within 12-24 hours, in mild cases - after a few days. The dog experiences fever, lethargy, apathy, and complete refusal to eat. Symptoms that should alert owners are a wobbly gait, weakness in the front legs, even loss of balance. A terrible sign is when the urine turns brown, vomiting, and frequent stools interspersed with blood appear. Do not tempt fate; if such signs are present, the dog should be taken to the veterinarian as soon as possible.

How to protect dogs from ticks

It is best to predict tick bites in dogs in advance. Therefore, take preventive measures in a timely manner.

During the period of greatest tick activity, the animal needs to wear an anti-tick collar;
Get vaccinated to develop immunity against tick-borne infections;
Treat the animal with repellents;
After each walk in the forest, carefully inspect the animal’s fur in order to remove insects in time and destroy them.

As folk remedies that are safe for the animal, it is good to use drops of essential oils that are applied to the withers. And washing with tar soap will not only help repel ticks and fleas, but will also heal wounds and relieve irritation and itching.

How to protect yourself from ticks outdoors in the forest

When choosing clothes for forest walks, you must choose mosquito and anti-encephalitis clothing. guarantee 100% protection against tick attacks, the “Taiga” suit does not restrict movement, but at the same time fits the figure very tightly, the “Bodyguard” suit can be worn all year round, as it has a mesh structure and can warm the human body. A mosquito net on the head will be an additional means of protecting a person from tick bites.

Prevention of bites. 9 effective measures

The tick bites painlessly, people notice it on themselves already in a blood-sucking state. An hour or two is enough to become infected with a dangerous disease, so do not ignore preventive measures, especially during the active time for them (late spring and the last ten days of August). During this period, even when going to the park for a walk or a picnic, follow the following rules:

The most common places of bites.
Wear light-colored clothing - it is easier to see parasites and remove them.
Clothes should cover your arms and legs well; put off a T-shirt and shorts until mid-summer.
Take care to protect your head - it is also at risk, especially in children.
Slippery clothing material will be a big plus, as it will prevent the tick from clinging to you.
Tuck your pants into your shoes. Remember that ticks do not fall from trees, but lie in wait for their prey in thick grass, along forest paths. If possible, use more well-trodden paths.
Be sure to pre-treat your skin and (or) clothing with special preparations.
Regularly check yourself and your friends while walking. Preferably every hour.
Before you bring picked flowers into your home, inspect them thoroughly.
At home, take a shower and wash your clothes.

These preventive measures are sufficient for a short stay in the risk zone. For relaxation and work in the country, it is advisable to allocate one set of clothes treated with an acaricidal agent. After use, wrap things in a bag - this prolongs the validity of anti-tick medications.

Interestingly, the ticks only move from bottom to top. This feature is taken into account when designing anti-encephalitis suits.

Long hikes require more careful preparation. that all tourists who travel to Siberia, the Urals and other places with an increased concentration of these parasites be vaccinated against encephalitis and purchase special suits.

How to protect children from ticks

Children should not only wear tight-fitting, light-colored clothing and a hat covered with slippery fabric, but also undergo frequent inspection of exposed areas of the body. To treat children's clothing, the drug "Defi-Taiga" is used, the product "Bebideta" is used for application to the skin. Test treatment of children's skin must be carried out several days before the planned trip to the forest. In the forest, it is necessary to monitor the child’s behavior, do not allow him to pick flowering plants, walk among the grass, sit or lie down on open areas of the ground.

How does infection occur?

One thing needs to be taken into account. The tick does not attach itself immediately. Having attacked a person, it crawls over clothes for some time and looks for a place where it could get on the person’s skin. Once on the skin, the insect also does not immediately attach itself, but looks for the most convenient places for suction. This can be the skin of the armpits, thighs, genitals, on the head, neck, behind the ears, that is, places with the thinnest and most delicate skin.

The person does not feel the moment of suction, since the bite injects an anesthetic substance along with saliva. Sometimes, after sucking blood, the tick disappears on its own. Only sometimes there is soreness and redness in this place.

However, not every tick can be a source of infection. Externally, it is impossible to distinguish an infected insect from a non-infected one. Therefore, if you notice ticks in your area, be sure to take measures to combat them. Especially if your summer cottage is located next to a forest.

How to protect a pregnant woman from ticks

Clothing for a pregnant woman must be selected from a series of mosquito suits. If it is not there, then the shirt should be tucked into trousers, the ends of the trousers into socks and shoes with high tops. The neck should be covered with a high collar and scarf, and the sleeves should end with a thick cuff or elastic band. To repel insects, it is better to use folk remedies with strong odors. Toxic substances are used only for treating the lower parts of clothing.

Read also the article: “How to strengthen a child’s immunity”

Traditional methods

People protected themselves from parasites long before the advent of chemical compounds, using persistent and pronounced aromas to repel them. In order to prepare an effective remedy, it is enough to take one or more essential oils as a base. Vinegar, alcohol or cologne as an emulsifier and water as a solvent.

One of the folk ways of fighting

Among the oils that repel blood suckers are: mint, eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary, basil, etc. To protect children, alcohol or vinegar bases are not used, as they can irritate the skin.

The most vulnerable areas are treated with scented oils: armpits, groin area, neck, and the inside of clothes. One treatment is enough for 1.5-2 hours, then it needs to be repeated.

What should I do if bitten by a tick

Infectious disease experts advise that after a tick is discovered, do not panic and remove it as soon as possible. The likelihood of contracting an infection carried by a tick is low if the tick has been in the body for less than a day. If 2 to 3 days have passed, the likelihood of getting sick increases. Do not fill the tick body with gasoline or oil. Do not squeeze or puncture the tick to prevent the release of biological fluids that may contain infections and parasites.

Acaricides – poisons for ticks and midges

If a tick comes into contact with clothing treated with acaricide, its death occurs as a result of paralysis. This is due to the action of the synthetic agent permethrin (and its derivatives). All clothing that is planned for protection must be pre-treated. The drug should be used in well-ventilated areas, away from children.

Test of the most popular preparations containing acaricides

The use of acaricides provides a greater guarantee of protection. There are many products available on the market, so let’s look at the features of just a few:

Moskill Anti-Tick is a product that has been proven over the years and kills forest and taiga ticks.
Taiga Reftamide is a drug with an ultra-fast effect on blood-sucking insects, including midges. Among the features is a specific smell.
The acaricidal agent “Breeze-Antickle” is especially effective, as it immediately kills ticks that land on treated clothing. Has good value for money.
Gardex Extreme Anti-tick aerosol is a universal product that can be sprayed on clothes, tents, curtains, backpacks. Valid for up to 15 days or until the first wash.
Komaroff anti-tick spray is a popular acaricidal agent that effectively paralyzes the main species.
Picnic Family Super Anti-mite Aerosol – easy to use, indicated for treating clothing and other equipment.

Providing first aid for a tick bite

How to protect yourself from ticks in nature. The tick is removed with tweezers, and the person who will do this should wear gloves on their hands (preferably!). The insect is grabbed as close as possible to the place where it penetrates the skin and pulled out using vertical rocking movements. After removing the tick, there will be a wound that needs to be treated with an antiseptic. The area of the body around the bite site is also disinfected. The person performing the operation must wash and disinfect the instrument used to remove the tick and their hands.

After this, you need to go to a medical facility, where the victim is given antibiotic injections to prevent Lyme disease. This requires a doctor's prescription.

Read an interesting article about how to prepare healthy and tasty sandwiches to take with you on the road. You can find useful information HERE

Body examination

A complete examination of the body is necessary because it is often quite difficult to notice a tick bite. And especially when you arrive on the move. And if you are still wearing the right clothes, then sweating occurs, which often causes a slight itching that provokes scratching. As a result, panic grows, which forces you to probe the disturbed area every minute. It is very easy to recognize a tick with your fingers, despite its small size. But even if you haven’t found anyone, it’s still necessary to conduct an inspection.

So, having got out of a potentially dangerous area, you should take off your jacket and, moving away from your company and other people, shake it out thoroughly. If you were walking with elderly people, you need to help them by carefully removing your jacket from the back. Now we examine the clothing and body, especially the collar area, neck and back.

If the path is long and you often have to make your way through thickets, then it is advisable to inspect the area of contact after each contact with vegetation, and do a general inspection several times during the entire journey - approximately every quarter of an hour.

On a note! The tick will not crawl on your body for hours. Usually it penetrates after about five minutes, and sometimes immediately as soon as it finds an open area of skin! Therefore, when making your way through the bushes, it is advisable to reduce the interval between inspections!

Upon arrival home, the inspection must be repeated, especially since now it will be as complete as possible. First, we take a shower - it will allow us to wash off ticks from the body that may not have yet had time to attach themselves, and then we proceed to the inspection. If you check for ticks on yourself, then using a mirror will make it much easier and more convenient for you. Inspect the neck, shoulders, ears and behind them, ankles, waist, area under the knees and armpits. In this situation, special attention should be paid to areas where there are skin folds.

Infection with tick-borne encephalitis through goat milk

Infection with tick-borne encephalitis through goat's milk. If an animal has been bitten by a tick, it begins to develop fever, convulsions, and paralysis. After the symptoms cease to appear and the animal begins to recover, it is not always the owners of the animals who ask for a milk test for the presence of the pathogen. The encephalitis virus enters the human body through consumption of raw milk and takes hold in cells and tissues. Then it penetrates the blood and multiplies in leukocytes and blood vessels. After some time, it penetrates into the internal organs and affects the central nervous system.

The pathogen can be destroyed by boiling milk for a long time. At a temperature of 60°Son dies within 20 minutes. To avoid getting infected with goat encephalitis, it is better to drink pasteurized milk.

What diseases can ixodid parasites transmit to humans?

Ticks pose two types of danger to people: they themselves cause diseases (demodex, scabies, allergies, conjunctivitis, asthma, etc.) or act as carriers of severe infectious diseases.

In the first case, the diseases are associated with long-term parasitism on the surface of the skin or in the human environment (for example, in dust or bedding). In the second case, infection occurs during a bite - the tick's saliva may contain a dangerous infection (viral or bacterial). Once in the human bloodstream, the disease quickly strengthens its position. Among the most dangerous consequences of a bite:

Tick-borne encephalitis is an infection that affects the main centers of the human nervous system. Accompanied by fever, muscle weakness, nausea, vomiting. It develops cyclically. Encephalitis is difficult to diagnose at the first stage, since its symptoms are similar to other diseases (influenza, polio, meningitis). For treatment, the introduction of immunoglobulins is used, which are effective in the first days after the bite. For prevention, in places with a high population of these arachnids, vaccination is used. There are two subtypes of encephalitis with different courses of the disease: European and Far Eastern. The Far Eastern subtype has a greater danger with a mortality rate of 20-25%.
Borreliosis (Lyme disease) is associated with Borrelia bacteria. This disease is much easier to diagnose, since a characteristic red ring forms at the site of the bite. This symptom is also accompanied by joint pain, heart pain, and eye damage. The disease is treated with antibiotics, which help to avoid complications only if diagnosed in a timely manner. If bacteria are not controlled, they can attack vital organs and cause immune system failure. The disease does not often cause mortality, but the disability rate of borreliosis is quite high.
Ehrlichiosis is a disease caused by Ehrlichia bacteria. Main symptoms: general malaise, nausea, vomiting, heart rhythm disturbances, maculopapular rash. In severe cases, the patient develops meningitis or meningoencephalitis.

Also, a tick bite as a carrier of infection can cause babesiosis, tularemia, tick-borne typhus, hemorrhagic fever and other vector-borne diseases.

Release of the radio program “Advise, Doctor!” Her guest, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology of the Sechenov First Moscow Medical University, Marina Arkadyevna Kinkulkina talks about ticks.

Pets

Pets are excellent targets for ticks, as are humans. Previously, only owners of hunting or rural dogs encountered parasite bites, but recently urban animals have faced no less danger.

The tick is a carrier of piroplasmosis

Piroplasmosis is a particular danger for dogs (less often cats). This disease is caused by protozoan blood parasites that enter the blood after a bite.

The main symptoms include weakness, vomiting, and diarrhea. Even timely treatment does not guarantee a positive result, since piroplasmosis has a high mortality rate. At risk are puppies and young purebred dogs with undeveloped immunity.