;Resize=(1200,627)&hash=06e4b7833c7a88951311603a3f61661d19fbad85364edeeb9f2f5200af459756 "Seven tips: How to protect yourself from ticks")
The days are getting longer and people are drawn back outside into nature. Unfortunately, there are also annoying ticks lurking there, whose bites can be quite dangerous. We will show you which protective measures and budgetary resources you can use to prevent tick bites.
Although the animals are very small, the effect of a tick can be huge: Anyone who has been bitten by a tick has to remove it with tick tweezers and hope that no dangerous diseases such as TBE or Lyme disease have been transmitted. However, with the right protection, you can prevent the bite from happening in the first place.
Small arachnids that make life difficult for us: ticks. Not only can ticks cause local inflammation, diseases are also transmitted by ticks. To avoid this, you should take precautions to avoid getting bitten in the first place. Of course there is no guaranteed protection – unless you don’t leave the house at all, but that doesn’t have to be the case.
Vaccination can protect
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme disease are among the most dangerous diseases transmitted by ticks. A vaccination can protect against the viral disease TBE, your children can be vaccinated from their first birthday. Unfortunately, there is no vaccination against the bacterial disease Lyme disease.
Avoid meadows with tall grass
Rumors persist that ticks jump, fly or drop from trees onto their victims. But none of that is true. The bloodsuckers lurk on blades of grass and in the undergrowth. So avoid staying in tall grass for long periods of time. When hiking and walking, stick to existing, well-trodden paths.
Wear the right clothes
The right clothing protects you best against ticks. It should be as light and monochromatic as possible. Long trousers, a long shirt and sturdy shoes prevent the crawling creatures from getting to your skin. Pulling socks over trouser legs may be a fashion faux pas, but it effectively protects against ticks when engaging in outdoor activities. You should also tuck your t-shirt or shirt into your pants to keep the crawling parasites away from your skin.
Repellents with tick-repellent active ingredients
In your pharmacy you can get so-called repellents with tick-repellent active ingredients. Your body odor appears uninteresting to ticks for a certain period of time when it is applied to the skin. However, the active ingredients and effective times of the agents vary greatly and can trigger allergies, so you should be well informed beforehand.
Even if you use repellents, be sure to regularly check your skin for ticks every 30 to 60 minutes. It is therefore better not to wear black clothes, because you can spot the little animals better in light-colored shirts and pants.
Take the time to thoroughly check your body and that of your children for ticks after spending time in nature. Ticks prefer thin and warm areas of skin, so pay particular attention to the arms, back of the knees, head, neck and private parts.
Use coconut oil
Even if coconut oil always smells a bit like vacation for us humans – ticks don’t seem to like this smell at all. The lauric acid it contains supposedly keeps crawling creatures away. It’s best to rub the oil all over yourself – if it doesn’t work against ticks, at least you don’t have any foul-smelling chemicals on your body.
The smell of garlic drives away the ticks
Garlic is supposed to help against vampires, so why not against crawling bloodsuckers too? Swedish researchers from Lund University in Malmö have tested the effect on members of the military. Test persons who swallowed garlic powder were bitten significantly less by ticks than those who did not eat any garlic.
Black cumin oil has a tick-repellent effect
Black cumin oil is said to have many positive effects on our health, and it is also said to have a tick-repellent effect. The oil can be used both internally and externally. If you don’t like the taste, you can also use it in cooking or mix it in a fruit juice.