Any news on whether exposure treatments like those for peanut allergies have any effect on alpha-gal allergies too?
Just general advice that has been effective for me (I’m sure you can probably find this online)
Before any hike, deet or other repellant on your skin and clothes/shoes. Know where they hang out and try not to go into deep grass. After a hike, shed all your clothes and shoes carefully and wash it all. Take a shower and either have someone check you out or do a self inspection.
Some places, like desert climates, I have never seen any. One of the worst hikes I’ve encountered I was in Idaho by a river and must have seen 100. I literally turned around and stopped the hike. I usually start by looking at the tips of grass blades hanging over the trail. As you walk you kinda just scan and after a while you might see them just hanging on the very end with their arms extended. If you don’t see any, there probably isn’t much to worry about.
Ive avoided a bite so far but I also obsess…
https://thehikingauthority.com/do-ticks-fall-down-from-trees...
I'm originally from Idaho but recently moved to Virginia. I've been far more cautious about ticks here than I ever felt the need to be in Idaho because you just don't get Lyme disease there.
When I go hiking here I treat my clothing with permethrin, wear long sleeved shirts and pants, and use 100% deet on any exposed skin. So far I haven't seen any ticks on my body.
I sometimes wonder what the world would look like if people cared about the things that actually kill. Like, what if we would invest 300 trillion dollars into fighting prostate cancer instead of "terrorists"? What if we would design an entire education system around healthy sport instead of the prevention of "stranger danger"?
There's plenty of outdoor spaces that are treated for ticks prevention to enjoy too, to get the best of both worlds.
I still do very long hikes each summer, but now I'm obsessed with ticks and constantly scan and dodge grass blades.
I refuse to apply nasty chemicals on myself though.
In this study it mentioned the Lone Star tick specifically though ("In the United States, the condition most often begins when a Lone Star tick bites someone"), and apparently it's not present in either of those states or Canada as far as I or the internet appears to know.
I guess it comes down to your risk aversion - assuming it can come from any tick, there's no 'safe' place to hike in most of North America. Personally I've been outdoors a lot all of my 35 years and ticks haven't been an issue here on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Pacific Northwest is probably safe enough.
As someone else mentioned, being outside and exercising is well worth the risk pretty much anywhere. Just be cognizant of the risk, check yourself and hiking partners if you're in a high risk area, etc.
Then you just need a TBE-vaccine and a daily tick-check to make sure you don't get lyme -- and you are good to go exploring our great nation which includes e.g. the one and only "Sky Mountain" [0].
Both, in general, and specifically when talking about Scandinavian countries.
Lowest _percepted_ corruption, which is quite a bit different than what you suggest, maybe us danes are just completely oblivious ;)
Danes do have the same directness that you speak of.
Black mold comes to mind...