{"id":1806,"date":"2021-08-23T15:56:01","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T15:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/blog\/?p=1806&#038;fishpig=1629733068&#038;preview=true"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:36:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:36:54","slug":"avoiding-ticks-while-hunting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/avoiding-ticks-while-hunting\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding Ticks While Hunting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\"><div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\"><p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p><span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/avoiding-ticks-while-hunting\/#Avoiding_Ticks_While_Hunting\" >Avoiding Ticks While Hunting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/avoiding-ticks-while-hunting\/#Avoiding_Ticks_While_Hunting-2\" >Avoiding Ticks While Hunting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/avoiding-ticks-while-hunting\/#Treat_Your_Clothes_Gear\" >Treat Your Clothes & Gear<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/avoiding-ticks-while-hunting\/#Avoid_Tick-Heavy_Areas\" >Avoid Tick-Heavy Areas<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/avoiding-ticks-while-hunting\/#Check_Yourself_Regularly\" >Check Yourself Regularly<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Avoiding_Ticks_While_Hunting\"><\/span>Avoiding Ticks While Hunting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Avoiding ticks while <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"hunting\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"317\">hunting<\/a> can help you stay clear of tick-borne diseases and illnesses like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/elk-hunting-where-to-how-to-why-to\/\">Colorado<\/a> Tick Fever.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A tick bite seems like such a little thing; and it is. But that miniature parasite can pack a bunch, bringing the strongest man to his knees. A single tick bite can cause such diseases and illnesses like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Colorado Tick Fever.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In fact, I just recovered from Colorado Tick Fever (CTF), which I received from a tick bite I received while fishing in southwest Colorado. While we\u2019re starting to see more awareness information around tick-borne illnesses, I thought it paramount to try and do my part after having the wind knocked out of my sail for nearly a week.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It started on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. My father and I had broke for lunch in a shaded pine grove along the Piedra River west of Pagosa Springs. I ate my sandwich propped back against the trunk of a ponderosa without giving a second\u2019s consideration to the insect life around me (I noticed the flowers, birds, and mammals like most of us, and since it was a fishing day, I kept an eye on the back of an eddie, hoping to see trout rising to the various hatches).<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We fished for several more hours after lunch before heading back to town. My dad left for home in Alabama early the next morning and I proceeded to go about my day by getting ready for work. I began dressing after a quick shower when I noticed an odd \u201cfreckle\u201d on my chest. It only took about a second to realize it was a tick, which had done a good job of burrowing its ugly little head into my skin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><figure id=\"attachment_1812\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1812\" style=\"width: 532px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1812 size-full\" title=\"Hunting\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Two-in-hospital-after-getting-infections-spread-by-tick-bites-1.jpg\" alt=\"Hunting\" width=\"532\" height=\"383\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1812\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/finding-a-hunting-lease\/\">Hunting<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was able to get the tick, head and body intact, out with a quick pull, flushed it down the toilet and didn\u2019t give it another moment\u2019s thought. Until a few days later\u2026<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I found the tick in my chest on Monday morning. By Thursday at noon I thought I was coming down with the flu. The symptoms got worse that afternoon and throughout the night. By the wee hours of Friday morning even getting out of bed was a struggle.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I waited six days before consulting a doctor where blood tests came back positive for Colorado Tick Fever. My white blood cell count was incredibly low and rendered me physically useless for nearly another week. I ate ibuprofen like candy to ward off the back pains and headaches. Needless to say, CTF really knocked me on my rear end. I\u2019m going to do my dangdest to never allow a tick to bite me again.<\/span><\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Avoiding_Ticks_While_Hunting-2\"><\/span><b>Avoiding Ticks While Hunting<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I couldn\u2019t imagine getting sick in the backcountry rather than in the comfort of my own home. That\u2019s why I think we need to be, as a <a title=\"hunting\" href=\"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/blog\/category\/hunting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hunting<\/a> and outdoor community, more aware of the dangers this tiny parasitic arachnid can cause. Avoiding ticks while hunting can help you stay clear of tick-borne diseases and illnesses like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Colorado Tick Fever, and Alpha-gal Syndrome (AGS), which causes the host to develop an allergy to red meat; the latter a huge detriment in itself though especially to a <a title=\"Best Big Game Hunting Rifles\" href=\"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/blog\/best-big-game-hunting-rifles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">big game<\/a> hunter.<\/span><\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><b>Treat Your Clothes &#038; Gear<\/b><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Right after the doctor called with my diagnosis, I ordered a bottle of insect repellent, containing permethrin, from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sawyer.com\/products\/permethrin-insect-repellent-treatment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sawyer Products<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. This is a treatment to be applied before wearing clothes or using <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/18-turkey-hunting-gear-essentials\/\">gear<\/a>. You\u2019ll want to lay out all garments and gear in an outdoor area, treat them according to directions, and let them sit for a couple hours. This is some serious stuff that you don\u2019t want to ingest or even touch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But it works. In fact, it also repels mosquitos and the various diseases they carry. Perhaps the best part is that since the spray is a molecule-based application, it will hold onto your clothes and gear for a minimum of 42 days. That way you\u2019re not having to re-treat every time you go outside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><figure id=\"attachment_1807\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1807\" style=\"width: 693px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1807\" title=\"Hunting\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/DSC1391-Nate-Luebbe-Treating-Clothing-with-Permethrin-1000x667-1.jpg\" alt=\"Hunting\" width=\"693\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/DSC1391-Nate-Luebbe-Treating-Clothing-with-Permethrin-1000x667-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/DSC1391-Nate-Luebbe-Treating-Clothing-with-Permethrin-1000x667-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/DSC1391-Nate-Luebbe-Treating-Clothing-with-Permethrin-1000x667-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/DSC1391-Nate-Luebbe-Treating-Clothing-with-Permethrin-1000x667-1-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/DSC1391-Nate-Luebbe-Treating-Clothing-with-Permethrin-1000x667-1-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/DSC1391-Nate-Luebbe-Treating-Clothing-with-Permethrin-1000x667-1-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 693px) 100vw, 693px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1807\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hunting<\/figcaption><\/figure><p style=\"text-align: justify\">Unlike topical insect repellents applied to the skin, <a href=\"https:\/\/sawyer.com\/products\/permethrin-insect-repellent-treatment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Permethrin<\/a> is applied to <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/tag\/clothing\/\">clothing<\/a> and outdoor gear material, bonding to the fabric fibers for up to 6 weeks or 6 washings.<\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Avoid_Tick-Heavy_Areas\"><\/span><b>Avoid Tick-Heavy Areas<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to the CDC, we can avoid ticks by staying away from woody and brushy areas where populations thrive. Stay on trails, they say. While this is a good tip for a simple day hike, it\u2019s not something the backcountry hunter will adhere to. So, instead, think about where you break for lunch or even set up. Contact with ticks is inevitable, but if you\u2019ve treated your clothing and check yourself regularly, there shouldn\u2019t be an issue.<\/span><\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Check_Yourself_Regularly\"><\/span><b>Check Yourself Regularly<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Make regular stops throughout the day to check yourself. Like in my case, ticks may look like a freckle, so scrutinize each one closely. Not to sound overly gross &#8211; inspect every crevice of your body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you have a dog, check it regularly as well. And most importantly, watch out for ticks when <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/my-first-rifle\/\">cleaning<\/a> a <a title=\"big game hunting\" href=\"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/blog\/tag\/big-game-hunting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">big game<\/a> animal. While we treat our pets for ticks and fleas, elk and deer are tick magnets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Having CTF was a rough experience. The only cure is time. And often it comes in two waves though I luckily avoided the second. However, I couldn\u2019t imagine Alpha-gal Syndrome and the daunting result that I\u2019d never be able to eat red meat again. That in itself is enough to raise my awareness before, during, and after my time in the woods.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So this summer as you\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/shed-hunting-with-a-binocular\/\" title=\"Shed Hunting With a Binocular\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"798\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">scouting<\/a> and in the fall when it\u2019s go time, make sure you properly treat your clothes and check yourselves for ticks. We want you to have an enjoyable backcountry experience void of some illness caused by these nasty little critters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Avoiding Ticks While Hunting | TRACT design and engineer performance-grade optics without the added retail costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12157,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2258,1],"tags":[2797,2967],"class_list":["post-1806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hunting","category-uncategorized","tag-hunting","tag-outdoors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11438,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806\/revisions\/11438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}