What are ticks?
Ticks are small, blood-sucking arachnids that are found throughout the world. They are most commonly found in wooded areas and long grass, where they attach themselves to animals and humans. Ticks can carry a variety of diseases, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tick-borne encephalitis.
How to protect yourself from ticks while camping
Wear protective clothing: Wearing long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and closed-toe shoes can help keep ticks from attaching to your skin. Light-colored clothing can also help you spot any ticks that may have hitched a ride.
Use insect repellent: Applying insect repellent that contains DEET or picaridin can help repel ticks. Ticks also hate the smell of lemon, orange, cinnamon, lavender, peppermint, and rose geranium so they'll avoid latching on to anything that smells of those items. Any of these or a combination can be used in DIY sprays or added to almond oil and rubbed on exposed skin.
Stay on marked trails: Ticks are most commonly found in tall grass and wooded areas. Staying on marked trails can help reduce your exposure to ticks.
Check yourself for ticks: After spending time outdoors, be sure to check yourself for ticks. Pay close attention to areas such as your armpits, groin, and scalp.
Remove ticks immediately: If you do find a tick attached to your skin, use tweezers to remove it immediately. Grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible and pull straight up. Be sure to clean the area with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.
Know the signs of tick-borne illnesses: If you develop a fever, headache, muscle aches, or a rash after being bitten by a tick, seek medical attention immediately.
In conclusion, ticks can be a serious threat while camping, but by taking the appropriate precautions, you can reduce your risk of being bitten.
]]>Let’s go CAMPING! But how prepared are you should you encounter a medical emergency? Have you taken into consideration if something happened to you or your travel companion(s)? If you or your travel companion(s) were to get ill, would you know what to do or who to contact? Aside from applying first aid and/or calling emergency services, what information can you provide to doctors and emergency technicians?
Having an Emergency Assistance Form can save time and reduce stress. This form allows you to have at your fingertips emergency contact information, medications listed, allergies you have, and insurance information.
Each club, group, and individual should complete this form and have it handy should you or your travel companion(s) need medical attention. I recommend placing this form in an area that is easily accessible. I placed mine in the pouch behind the passenger seat.
If you would like the form, email me at LittleBrownSquirrelInquiry@gmail.com.
Happy Camping!
]]>Here are some important facts and safety tips offered by the University of Florida:
If you do have a close run-in with an alligator that charges at you, run away fast and straight, not zig-zag. It is unlikely, however, that an alligator will display this behavior unless you are near its nest.
Remember that in Florida, it is illegal to kill or harass alligators; alligators may only be harvested under special licenses and permits issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. If you have a nuisance alligator in your area, contact the FWC office or call 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).
To learn more about these exciting reptiles, visit the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Florida. https://www.alligatorfarm.com/
Happy and safe camping.
]]>Always check your equipment to make sure you don't carry spiders to the campsite from your house. If you store your camping equipment in a garage or basement, you may have spiders living in nooks and crannies of your tents and other equipment. One of the best ways to avoid spiders at your campsite is by shaking out your camping gear and searching for and killing all spiders before you leave to go camping.
]]>According to Google, spiders evoked the strongest response from the study's participants. Zoophobia — an overwhelming and debilitating fear or dislike of particular animals — is a quite common anxiety disorder, affecting up to 6 percent of people at some point in their lives, according to some estimates.
Some five out of 100 people in the United States have one or more phobias, with women slightly more likely to develop one than men. One of the most common phobias is arachnophobia, a debilitating fear of spiders, says Alan Manavitz, MD, clinical psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
Based on what I could see, this is a southern black widow spider. This spider has a shiny, black, globe-shaped abdomen. You’ll know it by the red hourglass mark on the underside.
Black widow spiders are active at night and live in dark areas, such as garages, sheds and of course, the woods.
According to Lara Webster of Leaf Group, always check your equipment to make sure you don't carry spiders to the campsite from your house. If you store your camping equipment in a garage or basement, you may have spiders living in nooks and crannies of your tents and other equipment. One of the best ways to avoid spiders at your campsite is by shaking out your camping gear and searching for and killing all spiders before you leave to go camping.
Spray bug repellent around the perimeter of your tent or camper, as well as around the seating area of your campsite. While you can't obliterate all of the spiders in your campsite area, this will help prevent their crawling into the areas where you'll spend the most time.
Look for holes in your tent, or around the doorways and windows of an RV camper, to see if there are places spiders could get in. Cover up holes with heavy-duty tape and be sure to spray insect repellent in the area, on the side facing the outdoors.
Avoid spraying perfume in your campsite; it may attract spiders. Similarly, keep your food wrapped up tight and then put it inside a cooler or metal box so the smell won't attract spiders to your campsite. Clean all utensils right away and don't leave trash lying around.
Light a campfire and keep it burning until shortly before you go to sleep. Smoke can deter creepy crawlers in general, including spiders.
Pitch your campsite away from standing water to avoid spiders.
Avoid camping right under big trees, which are likely to harbor spiders.
Happy, Spiderless, Camping
When I watch television, I noticed that people outside of the United States are wearing masks. "Should I be wearing a mask?", I asked myself.
According to the World Health Organization, if you are healthy you only should wear a mask if:
The messaging across the United States has been mixed. Officials have said wearing a mask is not needed unless you meet one of the above criteria. But I have also heard authorities say that one should move about as if they have COVID 19. In that case, " I want a mask for me, my family, and my customers." https://tinyurl.com/rj5rwgw
There are no N95 masks available to purchase in the stores. As they should, those masks have been allocated for the healthcare professionals directly working with patients with COVID 19.
So I started researching pollution masks.
I'll share what I discovered in my next blog.
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Photo credit: Barry Reeger, AP
(@Ancestory.com has also determined that Punxsutawney Phil is the cousin of Little Brown Squirrel 💛)
Yay! That means an earlier camping season!
This exciting news has prompted us to have a storewide Groundhog Day sale. Grab your acorns and save 20% through February 8th (enter code GHD at checkout).
Happy soon-to-be Spring shopping,
Little Brown Squirrel CEO
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Did you make a New Year's resolution to get outside more with your family and friends, or even by yourself? We are here to help you find the supplies you need for camping and hiking. Whether you need a new tent, hiking boots, a great backpack....our new gear sale is happening NOW through March 1st.
Enter the discount code: NEWGEAR at checkout and enjoy the discount.
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My next thought was to reach out to my friend Karen Ketchie, CEO of Ketchie Consulting LLC. Karen is an emergency management consultant and nurse. As expected, she had her boots on the ground in the Bahamas. With a quick message, Karen informed what the Bahamian people needed from a camping perspective: multi tools, headlamps, mosquito repellents, and re-hydration kits. From my viewing of previous hurricane destruction, I know that tents, tarps, water purification system, solar lights, blankets, mats and backpacks are needed.
While online researching how to send products to the Bahamas, it was Faith that a video on the Samaritan's Purse surfaced. Take a look: https://youtu.be/Y5DKf-j_m5M
As a result of watching this video, we have chose to support this non-profit organization and our sister in Christ Karen. Rehabilitation of the people and the cities takes time....a lot of time and money.
Will you help Samaritan's Purse by making a contribution? As a customer, you can receive a 20% discount on any product when your donate $10 through our online store.
Many blessings to you and yours!
The Little Brown Squirrel Family
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Then one day, my husband took me camping after work. I wasn't thrilled, to say the least, but his heart was in the right place. It was me, whose mind was elsewhere...still working. But he kept stressing the importance of letting go and enjoying nature. Then one day, it all clicked. I was finally at peace hiking trails, listening to crickets at night and taking slow deep breaths from the crisp, clean air. I was loving camping.
So I've decided to create an online store based solely on the experience of getting outside. Outside to feel nature's energy. Outside of one's comfort zone. Outside...to unleash all that holds us back.
I invite you to shop and share at https://littlebrownsquirrel.com.
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