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Posted By: tigerdragon Ticks - 06/02/14 04:00 AM
My camp is in an area that is getting a lot of attention for ever growing tick problem. What are some of your experiences, does your camp do tick education? We stress the importance of doing tick checks, but I'm thinking this year it will be something more.

I've got permanone to spray on my clothes and gear. Some strong deet for my skin. I always try to stay as covered as possible if I know I'll be a super wooded area, but that's a hard feat when its 100 out! And when pretty much everything is in the woods.
Posted By: PsyGuy Re: Ticks - 06/02/14 07:15 AM
We give a 1 minute blurb about it, and remind campers and staff to check themselves for ticks.
Posted By: Giggles Re: Ticks - 06/03/14 05:52 AM
I've only spent 1 summer at a camp with any tick population and I still didn't see any. So I can't be of much help. Good luck!
Posted By: Teenster Re: Ticks - 06/03/14 11:48 AM
Whenever we send campers out on over night camping trips or long hikes we check for ticks when they return. We've only had a couple of instances where we have actually found a tick or two. We still check as a precaution.

- Teenster
Posted By: Oompa Loompa Re: Ticks - 06/04/14 05:46 AM
We have a large number of ticks where the camp that I work at is located. We talk about ticks during the health part of camper orientation, and we do nightly tick checks - the campers get a tick check buddy to help them check their scalp and such.

We have more problems with staff than campers, because the part of the season where ticks are really heavy tends to be during precamp, and they are more cleared out by the time that campers get to camp. We probably have about one staff Lyme case every other year, generally caught early. I've had it. I don't recommend it.
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Ticks - 08/22/14 08:08 PM
We talk to campers and staff about ticks, and over the two years I worked in the health lodge, ticks were probably the most common issue that came to us (I loved picking them off!). We taped the ticks to letters, had the campers name them, then sent them home with parents at the end of each session, in case of problems.

To my knowledge, we've never had a case of lyme disease from camp.

HOWEVER, in 2006 I picked off a tick in precamp, and didn't think anything of it until later that day I started feeling dizzy. It continued the next day until finally I was taken to the ER with a high fever. I was also hallucinating a bit. When I got to the hospital, I started breaking out in spots all over my body.

Turns out I had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, which is uncommon in my region, but there were a number of cases that year. I was prescribed an antibiotic and sent home for a week.
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