7 Crazy Tick Myths You Shouldn't Believe!
We all know that those pesky little creatures can be a nuisance during camping trips (or just about any outdoor adventure), but did you know these seven crazy myths about ticks?
1. Using a Lit Match is a Safe Way to Remove a Tick-Many people believe that by touching a lit match to the body of a wood tick will cause it to stop feeding and back out of the skin. This is not true for the kind of ticks you will come across in the woods. In fact, when you apply heat to the body of the tick, it can cause the tick to vomit into the bite site. YUCK! You can also run the risk of burning your skin. Here is the best way to remove a wood tick.
2. Just Jump In The Pool-Although the idea of going for a swim after a long hike sounds great, it will do nothing to remove any ticks that have crawled onto you. Many people believe that the chlorine in the pool will cause the tick to detach or that the tick will drown in the water. Neither of these things are true. An attached tick will not unhook itself no matter how long you're in the water. Your best bet is to do a tick check if you've been in the woods.
3. Full Ticks EXPLODE! There is a popular myth out there that ticks will keep sucking your blood until they explode! While that's a very interesting (and somewhat gruesome) idea, it is also not true. Ticks will stop feeding when they're fully engorged. That means, when they just aren't hungry anymore. So, if you're waiting for a gory "show"....it's not going to happen.
4. DEET Will Destroy Ticks-Deet is a very effective mosquito repellent but it is much less effective when it comes to repelling ticks. The BEST bet when it comes to keeping ticks away is permethrin. This is a tick repellent that can be applied to both clothes and shoes that will actually kill the tick on contact. Clothing that is commercially treated can still be effective after 70 washes. You can actually treat your own clothes to stay tick safe.
5. Ticks Without Bodies Can Survive-a tick CAN survive a lot of things, but having its body detached from its head is not one of them! So many people worry that if they aren't able to remove the head of a tick from their skin, that it will still continue to feed. This is simply not true. If you aren't able to remove the head of the tick there is no need to panic. The head will just work itself out, much like a splinter. It's still a good idea to use an antiseptic on the bite site to keep it free of germs.
6. Ticks Fall Out Of Trees-If this were true, ticks should all be wearing superhero capes. Just think about it...for a tick to climb a tree, wait for you to come along, gauge the wind direction, and then land precisely on your head...is ridiculous. Ticks don't climb trees because they don't need to. All ticks crawl up from ground level. Many of them end up on your head only because that's how far they crawled, not because they landed there.
7. Vaseline Suffocates Ticks-Even if it were true, the time it would take to suffocate a tick with Vaseline is much too long! Why would you let a tick stay attached and increase the likelihood of it transmitting disease-causing germs? Instead of suffocation, here are some great tick removal tips.
So, while out enjoying the great outdoors this summer, keep these seven myths in mind and do the things that you need to de-bunk and de-bug!
5. Ticks Without Bodies Can Survive-a tick CAN survive a lot of things, but having its body detached from its head is not one of them! So many people worry that if they aren't able to remove the head of a tick from their skin, that it will still continue to feed. This is simply not true. If you aren't able to remove the head of the tick there is no need to panic. The head will just work itself out, much like a splinter. It's still a good idea to use an antiseptic on the bite site to keep it free of germs.
6. Ticks Fall Out Of Trees-If this were true, ticks should all be wearing superhero capes. Just think about it...for a tick to climb a tree, wait for you to come along, gauge the wind direction, and then land precisely on your head...is ridiculous. Ticks don't climb trees because they don't need to. All ticks crawl up from ground level. Many of them end up on your head only because that's how far they crawled, not because they landed there.
7. Vaseline Suffocates Ticks-Even if it were true, the time it would take to suffocate a tick with Vaseline is much too long! Why would you let a tick stay attached and increase the likelihood of it transmitting disease-causing germs? Instead of suffocation, here are some great tick removal tips.
So, while out enjoying the great outdoors this summer, keep these seven myths in mind and do the things that you need to de-bunk and de-bug!
