The Hunter’s Guide to Ticks—the Nastiest, Most Disgusting Bloodsuckers in the Woods

The grossest ticks, the diseases they transmit, and how keep them from sucking your blood and making you sick

It’s a good time to be a blood-sucking parasite, and not just as a member of the U.S. Congress. Between 2004 and 2016, reports of tick-borne diseases more than doubled in the U.S., a trend that experts say continues. Ticks are now the number one vector-borne cause of disease in this country. (A “vector-borne” disease is passed from one organism to another.) Further, the geographic ranges of many tick species are expanding, driven both by climate change and changing land-use patterns.

Complicating things right now is the fact that the flu-like symptoms of many tick-borne diseases mimic those of Covid-19. This makes it even more difficult than normal for doctors trying to diagnose and treat Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. In this story, we’ll take a look at the five ticks you need to watch out for, the diseases they cause, and how to avoid the little bloodsuckers in the first place.

Head here for the complete guide on ticks written by Bill Heavey

Foto miniatura Blog Autor
Menciones en los medios de Field + Stream
Campo + Corriente

Field & Stream es el alma del amante de las actividades al aire libre, y lleva publicando contenidos de caza y pesca desde 1895.

Menciones en los medios de comunicación

Sawyer’s spray offers an impressive 12 hours of protection against mosquitoes and ticks, and a little less (eight hours) against flies, gnats, and chiggers.

Korin Miller
Health, Lifestyle and Commerce Writer

Menciones en los medios de comunicación

Sawyer’s Permethrin spray has also worked as promised.

Mark Melotik
Freelance Writer

Menciones en los medios de comunicación

Sawyer, for example, checks to ensure that no pore size exceeds 0.01 microns, stating that “the filters are then checked four more times at crucial points of assembly for filter integrity before they make their way onto the shelf.”

Dan Hu
Escritor