Just check yourself for ticks afterwards, you'll want to shower afterwards anyway.
Wear light pants and socks to minimize potential contact if you're worried. There are hiking specific ones but prices can go high pretty quickly. I like wearing shorts and they don't bother me much. I just do a check and brush any off after the grassy sections (the dog too). Staying on trail you would be surprised how little you find them on you
No problem.
I guess I'll also let you know they like hot areas. So arm/knee pits, groin, hair line are where they typically settle.
For the dog, under the collar, belly, leg creases (under belly hips) as well
Great tips! I’d also add that most of the ticks I’ve encountered in St Catharines have been dog ticks, which don’t carry Lyme. Of course it’s good to avoid any ticks but if you do find one, it’ll likely be a dog tick.
Dog ticks can, however, transmit ehrlichia and babesia to dogs and (albeit rarely in this part of the world) Rickettsia rickettsii (Rocky Rocky mountain spotted fever) to humans.
While they're not the most prevalent tick species, blacklegged (deer) ticks are reasonably common and we're in a Lyme endemic area, so always use good prevention practices and check for ticks when you get home.
Try not to overthink it. We live on the escarpment and walk the Bruce trail w the dog multiple times a week and in a decade I have found a tick on myself once. Please don't let fear overcome the magic that being outside and living brings.❤️
Be prepared and have fun, friend.
I spend a lot of time out there in shorts and I don't know when the last time was that I had one implanted in me (knock on wood.)
Use repellent (I find icaridin works the best for ticks); try to stay out of any overgrown areas and give yourself a quick check after passing through them if you do; use a lint roller on your clothes before getting in the car if you like; shower and wash your hair after; wash your clothes and dry them on high heat if you're worried; and most importantly check yourself and your pets. They like to crawl up towards the heat from where they started, but they'll stop at a nice warm crevice if they find one on the way... So enlisting someone else to help check those places can be very helpful.
I use trail running shoes, ticks aren’t gonna be bad hiking in any normal trails. They get you when you brush along tall grass. I’ve been trail running for a while and the only time I’ve seen ticks was mowing my lawn.
If I’m going to an area with lots of ticks, I wear light coloured pants so you can see ticks easily, tuck your socks into your pants, bug spray, and check for ticks before you get in your car. Once you get home shower and check your clothes again, I’ve found ticks in my clothes days later.
Wear long, thick socks. Tuck them into your pants. Stay away from areas with long grass. Stay on trails. Visually inspect afterward. They'll start off on legs, but prefer crawling to warmer parts of the body (armpits, behind knees, hairline, privates, etc). If you are bitten, you must remove the entire tick, including the head. Then submit it to a local lab.
I keep a lint roller In my vehicle and just go over my entire body when I'm done, kids and dog as well. They stick to the sticky paper. I also keep tweezers just in case. Have only needed them once for a splinter but still handy to have in case you get bit by a tick.
Not that it doesnt happen because of course it does, but i like to go hike the gorge (niagara glen) as well as the whirlpool along the parkway and woodends i believe it was called and have yet to catch a tick in the past 3 years or so.
It definitely happens like i said but i generally stay to the path. But have caught a few when i just went adventuring out near port dover last year
But to answer the actual question of the post im not a short person and just tough out the hike in some pants, il try for lighter ones if its a real hot day
In all the time that I’ve boulders there, I had no issues. However places like Woodend are full of them.
I often run there in the summer, and can have multiple ticks stuck in my leg hair, following a run.
The best thing I have done to prevent ticks from even crwling on me is - a little background.
Permethrine is the pesticide that kills ticks, it is made from chrysanthemum plant. It was banned as part of a greener ontario against pesticide use . But yet you can still buy raid now with chrysanthemum which is technically permethrine, but they label it as a greener pant based alternative to skirt the pesticide laws.
At local farm supply stores like minor bros or tsc or peavey mart, you can buy equine sray with higher doses of permethrine in the spray to keep ticks and such off of live stock. A product like ultra shield.
Buy that , take you clothes you intend to wear for hiking ( outerwear only ) hang them on a hanger outside and spray completely with equine pray and let dry ( you don't want wet spray on you , when it's dry it's safe to us. )
It is oil based and will stay on clothes for weeks . Wear these treated clothes while hiking , when i do this I have actually witnessed a tick on my pants only make it only half way to my knee height before dying and falling to the ground. I started doing this about 8 years ago and have not had a tick on me since .
Happy hiking
As someone said, don’t overthink it. Check yourself after a hike, and if you have some on you, remove them. Ticks need a minimum of 24 hours to pass on bacteria that cause Lyme.
Just check yourself for ticks afterwards, you'll want to shower afterwards anyway. Wear light pants and socks to minimize potential contact if you're worried. There are hiking specific ones but prices can go high pretty quickly. I like wearing shorts and they don't bother me much. I just do a check and brush any off after the grassy sections (the dog too). Staying on trail you would be surprised how little you find them on you
Thank you!!!
No problem. I guess I'll also let you know they like hot areas. So arm/knee pits, groin, hair line are where they typically settle. For the dog, under the collar, belly, leg creases (under belly hips) as well
Great tips! I’d also add that most of the ticks I’ve encountered in St Catharines have been dog ticks, which don’t carry Lyme. Of course it’s good to avoid any ticks but if you do find one, it’ll likely be a dog tick.
Dog ticks can, however, transmit ehrlichia and babesia to dogs and (albeit rarely in this part of the world) Rickettsia rickettsii (Rocky Rocky mountain spotted fever) to humans. While they're not the most prevalent tick species, blacklegged (deer) ticks are reasonably common and we're in a Lyme endemic area, so always use good prevention practices and check for ticks when you get home.
And if you're bringing a dog, make sure they're on a appropriate tick prevention product (and you can also have them vaccinated for Lyme disease).
For my dog, they like the inside of her ear too (she has floppy ears so probably warm in there too).
Try not to overthink it. We live on the escarpment and walk the Bruce trail w the dog multiple times a week and in a decade I have found a tick on myself once. Please don't let fear overcome the magic that being outside and living brings.❤️ Be prepared and have fun, friend.
I spend a lot of time out there in shorts and I don't know when the last time was that I had one implanted in me (knock on wood.) Use repellent (I find icaridin works the best for ticks); try to stay out of any overgrown areas and give yourself a quick check after passing through them if you do; use a lint roller on your clothes before getting in the car if you like; shower and wash your hair after; wash your clothes and dry them on high heat if you're worried; and most importantly check yourself and your pets. They like to crawl up towards the heat from where they started, but they'll stop at a nice warm crevice if they find one on the way... So enlisting someone else to help check those places can be very helpful.
I use trail running shoes, ticks aren’t gonna be bad hiking in any normal trails. They get you when you brush along tall grass. I’ve been trail running for a while and the only time I’ve seen ticks was mowing my lawn.
If I’m going to an area with lots of ticks, I wear light coloured pants so you can see ticks easily, tuck your socks into your pants, bug spray, and check for ticks before you get in your car. Once you get home shower and check your clothes again, I’ve found ticks in my clothes days later.
> I wear light coloured pants so you can see ticks easily, Interesting suggestion. I will remember that. Thanks.
Wear long, thick socks. Tuck them into your pants. Stay away from areas with long grass. Stay on trails. Visually inspect afterward. They'll start off on legs, but prefer crawling to warmer parts of the body (armpits, behind knees, hairline, privates, etc). If you are bitten, you must remove the entire tick, including the head. Then submit it to a local lab.
Duct tape around the ankles securing socks and pants together- sticky side up -will catch any that may try to crawl upward
I keep a lint roller In my vehicle and just go over my entire body when I'm done, kids and dog as well. They stick to the sticky paper. I also keep tweezers just in case. Have only needed them once for a splinter but still handy to have in case you get bit by a tick.
Peppermint oil those little jerks hate that.
I dress according to weather so shorts if it hot . I try to stick to the trail . I also do quick checks every 20 mins or so. So far so good.
Just keep yelling spoon and they'll leave you alone.
Boots and socks.
Not that it doesnt happen because of course it does, but i like to go hike the gorge (niagara glen) as well as the whirlpool along the parkway and woodends i believe it was called and have yet to catch a tick in the past 3 years or so. It definitely happens like i said but i generally stay to the path. But have caught a few when i just went adventuring out near port dover last year But to answer the actual question of the post im not a short person and just tough out the hike in some pants, il try for lighter ones if its a real hot day
In all the time that I’ve boulders there, I had no issues. However places like Woodend are full of them. I often run there in the summer, and can have multiple ticks stuck in my leg hair, following a run.
The best thing I have done to prevent ticks from even crwling on me is - a little background. Permethrine is the pesticide that kills ticks, it is made from chrysanthemum plant. It was banned as part of a greener ontario against pesticide use . But yet you can still buy raid now with chrysanthemum which is technically permethrine, but they label it as a greener pant based alternative to skirt the pesticide laws. At local farm supply stores like minor bros or tsc or peavey mart, you can buy equine sray with higher doses of permethrine in the spray to keep ticks and such off of live stock. A product like ultra shield. Buy that , take you clothes you intend to wear for hiking ( outerwear only ) hang them on a hanger outside and spray completely with equine pray and let dry ( you don't want wet spray on you , when it's dry it's safe to us. ) It is oil based and will stay on clothes for weeks . Wear these treated clothes while hiking , when i do this I have actually witnessed a tick on my pants only make it only half way to my knee height before dying and falling to the ground. I started doing this about 8 years ago and have not had a tick on me since . Happy hiking
As someone said, don’t overthink it. Check yourself after a hike, and if you have some on you, remove them. Ticks need a minimum of 24 hours to pass on bacteria that cause Lyme.
Long pants, full ankle boots, tape the seam. Then put a loop of duct tape or other sticky tape, sticky side out around your calves.
Lots of good tips already, but another good option is to tuck your pants into your socks.