More Trails, Fewer Ticks
- Beth Sheppard
- Jul 30
- 2 min read
Spring and early fall often usher in the worst of our Eastern Shore tick season. This can be discouraging for outdoor lovers and for some this makes spending time in nature a serious health risk. Some have no choice and have learned to minimize tick encounters.
Anyone who loves to recreate in the splendid shade of the Eastern Shore’s forests or enjoys hiking through grassy meadows knows that ticks can find us walking in the woods, across an open meadow and just as easily in your back yard or local park. If there is green, there is a place for them to linger.
Here are basic tick facts:
Ticks are not insects - they are arachnids, related to spiders or mites.
Maryland has 6 species and all of these can be carriers of disease. The most common Blacklegged tick (aka Deer tick) (Ixodes scapularis) has an impressive life cycle.
Ticks pick up disease pathogens from wildlife such as mice, voles and white-tailed deer.
White-tailed deer are a feeding source for adult ticks year round, although they are not carriers of Lyme disease.
The pathogen can be transmitted to humans if a tick stays attached for 24 - 48 hours.
For more information on Lyme disease click here: LYME Disease
How LSLT minimizes chances of being bit:
Avoid sitting on logs or sitting in brushy areas.
Wear Tall Boots, spray the exterior with insect spray containing permethrin.
If you don’t have tall boots, tuck pants into socks. Tuck shirts into pants.
Wrap duct tape around your ankles and just below your knees with the adhesive side facing out to catch ticks before they can get beneath clothing.
Wear Insect Shield Clothing (https://www.insectshield.com/collections/shop-insect-shield)
L.L.Bean also carries a line of Insect Shield Clothing.
Put clothes worn outside in the dryer for 10 minutes before washing to kill any lingering ticks.
