Apocalyptic Tick Talk: What You Need to Know

I often take hints from the universe as to what topic would be most useful each week. Just today, I had two ticks on me after loading some skids that I wanted to get rid of into my friends’ truck. We weren’t outside long, maybe 15 minutes. We were not in high grass.

While I was taking a break inside before going out to do more work, I reached up to scratch my head and felt something there that was definitely NOT a part of ME. It was right in my hairline, at the back. Thankfully, it had not attached, and I quickly grabbed it, along with a small bunch of my hair, and threw it on the floor. 

I had been sloppy this morning and had not followed my own effective protocol for avoiding tick bites. Where I live, you are not going to avoid ticks if you go outside. That’s just how it is. What I want is to avoid the bites. So, recognizing my sloppiness in dress, I decided I would strip down right at that moment and do a full check. Good thing I did. I found the second tick… IN MY UNDERWEAR!!!

You might think that was enough to inspire the article. Nope. Turns out that one of the friends who was helping me out was still fighting Lyme disease. Over a cup of tea, he described how, every once in a while, he loses the use of his arm. He’s receiving the best care he can get, and his doctor refused to give him any more antibiotics. If this is the best that the medical system can do today, I wondered, what would it be like in SHTF?

Lyme Disease….in an Apocalypse

Assuming that I’m able to stay in the same region, Lyme disease would be a huge concern in SHTF. If there is little to no access to medical care, what would people do? Right now, everyone who has a tick bite with an engorged tick in a high-risk area in America is recommended to get a preventative dose of antibiotic. But what if that’s not available? 

Do you have 200mg of Doxycycline available for every tick bite you get if you live in a high-risk area (see the link above for the map, too)? (You can get human-grade Doxycycline in this kit.) How many do you have? The shelf life of Doxycycline in ideal conditions is around two years from when it was made. The clock is ticking. Tick tock. Tick tock. After two years, do you want to take a chance to take it, when it may not be effective and might even be dangerous? 

There may be a great feeling of security that comes with a stash of Doxy. I get it. However, in any kind of prolonged SHTF, the clock is ticking on that stash. 

When I think of managing the danger of Lyme disease today and in any kind of apocalypse, my approach is preventative.

Tick Bite Prevention – My Clothing System

I imagine a full-out apocalypse where, out in my rural area, we will all be hunting and fishing and traipsing around in the woods. If I can get two ticks on me in a few minutes on my relatively groomed lawn, think of how many ticks you might collect on you walking 3kms in the forest!

I have had huge success with my nerdy clothing system. I developed this after a couple of scary bites where I recognized I had not done enough to prevent them. Here’s where my research came from.

Here is what I came up with:

Light-colored clothing is a must: light-colored underwear and bra under light-colored high-waisted leggings, a light-colored T-shirt tucked into those leggings, and preferably a long or 3/4-sleeve shirt of lightweight cotton. The ticks totally stand out on these! 

Light coloured socks, into which the light-colored leggings are tucked in. 

Light boots might also be nice. I still use my old black rain boots. The fact that they come up to the knee helps a LOT!

Clothing is Just the Start

If you go out in your nerdy outfit and then come in and lounge around inside, all you are doing is bringing hitchhiking ticks into your home, where, trust me on this, they will find you! 

When I get dressed to work outside, that is what I do. If I want to come inside, I try not to sit down, or else will sit on a chair covered in a light coloured cloth. I do my work outside, come in the door and strip down. I take a quick look on the surface of the clothing for ticks and kill any that I find immediately. The clothing is then placed at the door in a pile. The floor is light coloured. 

It helps to know tick psychology. Ticks have an instinct to climb to the top of the pile to seek to attach to a host. If there are any ticks remaining in that pile of clothing, they generally can be seen in a few hours on top of the clothing or on the wall nearby. I’m considering placing the clothing in a white kitchen garbage bin, which would be more secure still. 

When I have NOT been careful about where I sit when coming in for a work break, I have had ticks waiting for me on my kitchen towels!!!

Putting your clothing immediately into a hot dryer can kill the ticks. Having a hot shower can also help. Note that I do not have a dryer to place the potentially tick-infested clothing into, which is why I do it the way I do.  

The Importance of the Tick Check

In my own philosophy, I do not apply chemical pesticides to my skin. I protect myself by using the clothing barrier and being careful about how I manage it. The only actual tick bites I have gotten were when I broke this protocol and was sloppy.

What I have found again and again that protects me is prompt tick checking. Not just at night, but right after stripping down after intensive work outdoors. As I have long hair, I do cover it with a baseball cap when I work. However, I find that my hair is quite often where they climb on, somehow. So, when I head to the bathroom for my tick check, the first thing I do is flip my head down and give my hair a heavy brushing upside down. Many, many times, I have found ticks this way. 

I have a full-length mirror and do a complete check, including using a hand mirror for my back. Single people, you have no excuses! Only then do I dress in my light-coloured house dress. I don’t use these dresses for work in brush. I might wear one out to get the mail, but that would be it. Work clothes are tick-proof, and inside clothes are separate.

That Doesn’t Sound Like Fun

Over lunch recently, a bunch of us were discussing how bad the ticks were already this spring. I shared briefly a bit about my clothing system. One gentleman got a rather sour look on his face and said, “That doesn’t sound like fun.” I replied, “Well, I don’t think Lyme disease is a lot of fun.” 

Years ago, I knew a woman whose husband was seriously disabled by Lyme disease. It particularly affected his brain. He was never able to work again. That would not be fun. 

What I like about my system is that it is not dependent on chemicals or antibiotics. It is helpful to have light colored clothing, but it could work with what I had on hand. Although I like using the mirrors, I have never found a tick on my back. All ticks on my hairline or behind my ears were found by feel. I know that my system would still work even without some of the things that make it effective, like the light-colored clothing and the mirrors that support my tick checks.

Tick Talk: The Clock is Ticking on Prevention

Done properly, a tick bite prevention system is highly effective.

What do you put your faith in when it comes to Lyme disease prevention? Could you see yourself trying any of the tips offered here? Do you have a tick bite prevention tip that you can share with us? Please tell us in the comments section.

About Rowan

Rowan O’Malley is a fourth-generation Irish American who loves all things green: plants (especially shamrocks), trees, herbs, and weeds! She challenges herself daily to live her best life and to be as fit, healthy, and prepared as possible.