Thunder crashed. Hail fell like marbles over our roof, and at our windows, early this Memorial day morning. When I finally rolled out of bed, around 10am (nice to sleep in), I went to our windows and pulled back the curtains, and for the first time in over two weeks I was able to see the work of the Lord's hand through our captivating multi - green oak tree forest. The rain this morning woke every leafy green plant up - it was breath taking. For the past few weeks I have been living in the fear that circles our home. We live in a very thick, shady woods and it butts right up to our yard. Every time I looked out into those woods I would think ticks, lots of ticks, and nothing beautiful, nothing peaceful for my soul. I would some times cry over the overwhelming fear that my children would be found day in, and day out running through trails to feed the rabbits or visit Nana and Pop, most likely collecting ticks. Today, however, I came to the realization that this is God's home, and I must trust in the Lord. With that, I can hear the words of my friend, who expressed, "Just burn your forest down." She was joking, obviously that is not possible. The question then remains... How will we protect our children?
Prevention!
Well, in the book The Lyme Disease Solution they cover many preventative measures, and I will only cover those that we are able to do at this time. First and for most, we pray that the Lord will protect our children, even when we try our hardest to stop the tick insanity.
Mow, Mow, Mow! My son started with mowing the law and then into trimming the weeds around the house, and making our environment less tempting for ticks. After my son took care of the lawn, my hubby went out to tackle the many trails my children have in our forest. This is no easy task for a sick man. I heard the chainsaw for about 5 minutes, and then shortly after he came in to tell me he was tired and that was enough for today. Wow, this is hard to handle. I am used to the man who could go out on a Saturday, early morning run, God only knows how many miles, and then do yard work until dinner.
To Gander Mountain and home again. We bought the yard spray, the rat poison (we have mice, which are the leading carriers of deer ticks, along with squirrels, deer, and birds). Daminex tubes are supposed to be the best to kill the ticks on the mice. We are just out to kill the mice! Permethrin spray (0.5% aerosal, other options: Duranon, Permanone, Permakill), is the choice we have chosen for our children's clothing. . Apparently, Avon makes Skin-So-Soft Mosquito, flea, and deer tick repellent that supposedly the military uses profusely (haven't found this one yet). When the kids go outside we will spray their clothes with deet spray 97%, or at least 30% (this one has proven hard to find). Franklin found information on these current myths regarding deet. Eat lots of Garlic- yummy - insects hate the smell.
"Strip those clothes off in the garage!" has become my common phrase to my adventurous, outdoor children. Then we proceed to the check out line. No, joke, it is a very challenging procedure to check six kids, but it must be done each time they go out and come in. We only hear the boys complain, because they spend the most time in our woods and are constantly being checked. Often times they have to wait outside until I am ready to check them over. Yesterday, we found a nymph tick the size of a pen's head on our five year old. It was just walking through his hair, but we were able to show the boys how important it is to look closely for those nearly invisible ticks.
Next, don't water the lawn! This season with all the rain, MN is prime for the breeding of those dangerous ticks. We look forward to the middle of summer when God blesses us with the hot days, and the decrease in ticks who hate the hot sun. That's right, we won't water our lawn. Shade and moisture is where ticks desire to live, so eliminate those factors and your rates of tick bites will drastically decrease.
Camping... Great, my least favorite activity for my family. I no longer go camping, but that is a different post for another day. I have seen my men come home with dozens (no joke) of ticks and they just keep on crawling out of their clothes, and sleeping gear. Well, spray is the best for decreasing the amount of ticks. Checking and early removal of ticks is next. The tents and gear, we just learned, are supposed to be sprayed down with permethrin as well. Then each child is always sent with a large black garbage bag for all used clothing to be sealed away to contain the ticks. My husband is the one who takes the kids camping, so if these things really are dealt with properly one would have to ask him. One thing is for sure, when the come home, I will feel like ticks are crawling all over me for days to follow when they return - creepy.
As my daughter said last week, "Why did God have to make ticks anyway?" Well, other than to feed the chickens, I told her to ask God when she gets there. With a big hug, we smiled, and remembered to be joyful for the things that God has created.
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