How to deal with insects and critters

Camping is fun. To make your camping more enjoyable and pleasant, you need a little knowledge and right preparation. Here are some tips you can use to prevent outdoor pests. Print out the symptoms and treatments to bring with you. Check out our "First Aid Links" for camping emergency.

Mosquitoes come around for the season starting from May though Oct. They don't like too hot or cold tempreture just like us. These pests can make you really unpleasant. Bring something with you to repel these nasty ones. You can apply an insect repellent to your body. There are lots of bug repellents on the market; Visit your local stores. Read their product info and decide what product is suitable for where and when you're going. Spray all possible areas, so those little ones cannot attack you.
Perhaps putting on a repellent to your body is just one way. Insects bite depending your heigene or body chemistry or some stuff you use, for example, your perfume, soap, etc. As another way, you can change your environment to repel bugs. Don't expose your sweet food, or leave unclean dishes, that will invite flies or bees. Another thing is to use citronella candles. That helps bugs go away.

Ticks are parasites that suck warm-blood. Some ticks are harmless, but others carry disease like Lyme disease. Lyme disease is harmful and has been reported in most states.

• Avoid walking through high grass or dense brush. Try to walk on well-worn trails.
• Wear a hat, long sleeves and pants. Try not to expose your skin. You can use a repellent Use Deet which has high concentration about 95%on your clothing.
• Take a shower and wash your hair. Since it takes 4-6 house for ticks to stick to a body firmly, you can remove ticks by taking a shower. That's the best and quickest way.
• Seach your body once a day. Check everywhere completely. Ticks like warm areas.

• When you remove a tick, don't rub or pull it out . It can cause the head to leave in the skin. Use tweezers and hold tick closely to the skin and gently pull it out. And apply alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to the area and cover with a sterile bandage.
• See a doctor if you need a further treatment.
• - For more detail info about lyme disease topics, visit http://www.lymenet.org.

In outdoors, there are lots of poisonous plants. The best way is to recognize those plants and avoid them. They glow almost everywhere and the shapes are very various. Usually, the leaves are about 2-4 inches long and glossy. For more details with photos, go to the site for poison ivy http://www.ednet.ns.ca/educ/museum/poison/ivycu.htm. If you touch these plant, don't touch and scratch the exposed area. Wash the area in cold water immediately. If you rub it and touch other parts of your body, it can be transferred to those parts too. You can use a tropical solution like calamine lotion.

Bee stings can give you a little discomfort for non-sensitive people, but it could be fatal for hypersensitive people to the venom of bees. The hypersensitive should take precaution in outdoors when bees are active. They should wear long pants and long sleeves and take a shot for desensitization and shouldn't use perfumes or colognes. Don't panic and move suddenly when bees approach you. Stay calm and Slowly walk away.

• Check the sting area for the venom sac and stinger. If these are firmly fixed in the sin, get rid of them gently by sharp objects like a fingernail or knife blade. Do not gull the stinger out. It will cause more venom into your skin.
• To reduce swelling, apply ice on the sting are or wash with cold water.
• Apply prescription cream or calamine lotion to reduce itching and swelling.