Permethrin key to avoiding ticks from Adirondack Almanack

Anyone paying attention to the rapid rise of tick-borne diseases has heard the advice on avoiding tick bites. The advice we are hearing is not wrong, just very incomplete.

Most information to the public suggests wearing light colored clothing, tucking your pants into your socks, and checking your body carefully after possible exposure. The intent is to keep ticks away from your skin, and to remove them promptly if they succeed in attaching. This was sufficient when Lyme disease was the only real worry, since research has shown the Lyme disease organism is not transmitted until the tick has been attached for hours.

Unfortunately, ticks in our area now carry many more diseases, some of which are transmitted quickly when the tick bites you. It is no longer sufficient just to remove any ticks attached to your body when you come in from the outdoors. It is now essential to avoid being bitten at all.

The single most important way to prevent tick-borne disease is the chemical permethrin. Permethrin is a synthetic insecticide similar to natural chemicals produced by chrysanthemums. It can be used to treat scabies or lice, but for ticks it is applied exclusively to clothing, not to your skin.

See the full article on Adirondack Almanack's website here.