Eastern Long Island is at High Risk for Lyme Disease. May through September are the highest risk months due to intense nymphal activity. Make sure you are taking the proper steps for tick prevention! Below is some information from lectures I have been to in Sag Harbor with Lyme literate doctors and my own research.
Ticks hate the scent of lavender. Use soaps, detergents, shampoo,etc. Put dryer sheets in kids pockets. I really like Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap. This soap made out of all natural ingredients and is very versatile. See this soap’s multipe uses at the end of this article.
- For Laundry- 1/3 cup soap in large load. Add 1/2 cup vinegar in rise cycle
- Body Wash: one small squirt applied to wet hands or loofah
- For Shaving
- Other uses for Dr. Bronner Lavender Soap (good to have this smell in your home)
- All Purpose Cleaner: add 1/4 cup of soap to quart of water in spray bottle
- Dishes: Dilute 1:10 with water for hand-washed dishes.
- Fruit & Veggie Wash: A dash in bowl f water to remove reside
- Use dried lavender sachets in clothing drawers.
- Treat your shoes. Your feet is where ticks usually first come in contact with you.
- Spray BUG OFF on your shoes & you can also use it as an air freshener, on your bedroom sheets and pillow, in your hair body spray and clothing spray. When applying to your skin, shake well before EACH spray. Spray into hands and then run onto skin. When applying to hair, clothes etc: Shake well before EACH spray and spray. BUG OFF is non greasy so is perfect for this!
- For a stronger clothing repellent- use permethrin (use monthly) to ward off ticks and killing any that come in contact with your clothing. You can purchase impregnated permethrin clothing or do it yourself. This is not all natural.
- Avoid sitting on the ground or on stone walls. Avoid where ticks live: tall grasses, stay in the center of paths, etc.
- If you are going in a wooded area, wear pants and sneakers. Tuck socks into pants.
Tips for the yard:
- Wood Chip Border: Ticks will rarely cross a 3 foot wood chip border, use liberally around your property
- Cedar Mulch & Bags of Cypress. Buy Both and Mix them
- INSECTICIDES: Treat your property with a product called “Damminix”. This consists of cardboard tubes containing cotton balls that have been dipped in insecticide. Place these tubes around your property in the wooded areas and below shrubs.
- Mice transmit the most ticks that make people sick. Prevent Mice with these tips:
- Use Damminix and Permethrin on cotton balls. Use cotton balls in/near mice burrows around yard.
- Prevent Deer from entering property with a tall fence
- Remove wood piles, rock walls, and bird feeders as these attract tick-carrying animals and can increase the risk of acquiring Lyme.
- A 3-foot wood chip border around your yard helps prevent tick spread.
- Get your yard sprayed. There are companies in the Hamptons and other parts of Long Island offering Organic Pesticides
- Plant Lavender plants around your yard.
