scout

Avoid Ticks – How to “Suit Up” for the Outdoors

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NJ is home to several species of ticks who’d love nothing more than to latch on to your skin and feast. Some of these ticks can carry diseases which will make you very ill (not just Lyme). A few simple steps can help prevent you from becoming a tick buffet.

  • Dress for Battle:
    • Tall socks
    • Long pants tucked into your socks
    • Long-sleeved shirt tucked into your pants
    • Hat
    • (Light-colored clothing is better for spotting the dark ticks)
  • Hose Yourself Down:
    • Apply an insect repellant with 20-30% DEET to any exposed skin (adults will want to do this onto your kids. Careful not to get it into their eyes, nose, mouth or on hands.)
    • Awesome tool to search for repellants: cfpub.epa.gov/oppref/insect/
  • Hike the Trails:
    • Walk only on maintained trails
    • Avoid walking through tall grass or brush
    • Ticks don’t jump; they only transfer to you when you brush up against them
    • Try to sit on your camping chair; ticks crawl from ground up (the ground, logs, rocks are good spots to find them)
  • Check & Wash:
    • After your hike, do a Tick Check
    • Check your boots, they could be hiding there too
    • Wash your skin to remove the repellant
    • Wash your clothes and use the dryer (some ticks survive the washer but most die in the hot dryer)

And if you’re interested, the CDC published a list of all the diseases you can get from ticks. You can learn about them on their website: www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/

Are Ticks Lurking on Your Skin? How to do a Tick Check

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You’ve dressed properly then went on a hike so you’re pretty sure you don’t have any ticks. But the ticks are clever and sometimes really tiny. See the period at the end of this sentence; that’s how small a tick can be. You NEED to do a tick check after you hike. You can even do them periodically DURING your hike. The sooner you can get them off you, the better.

Here’s how:

  • Ideally, you want to be in your bathroom (the floor tiles will prevent them from hiding – you don’t want a tick living in your carpet).  Start from the ground up. 
    • Before you take off your clothes, check them.  If you were wearing light-colored clothing, maybe you can spot them easily.
    • Take off the shoes and check them.
    • Roll down your socks a couple inches and check your legs.
    • Unzip your pants and check around your waistband.
    • Roll up your sleeves and check your arms.
    • Check around the color of your shirt.
    • Check your hair.
  • Take off the clothes.  Start again from the ground and move upwards.
    • Check your feet and between your toes.
    • Check your legs and behind your knees.
    • Check the groin (between, inside, outside, everywhere).
    • Check your body, your belly button, your arms, your armpits.
    • Check your neck, ears, and hair thoroughly.
    • Use a hand mirror or a magnifying mirror if you have to.
    • This may seem excessive but ticks love warm places.
  • After you are done checking, take a shower.
    • While you are washing, feel for any hard bumps indicating a tick that you may have missed.
    • If you feel something that shouldn’t be there, look at it again.
  • Each day for the next few days, do the tick check.
    • If you picked one up, they will be bigger since they are attached and feeding on your blood.
    • If you see any red rashes, if your skin feels inflamed or you get a fever, call your doctor immediately, even if you don’t see the tick.

What to do if you find a tick:

  • Don’t panic! Yea, I know that’s hard when you first see one but it’s really important not to freak out your kids. Just remain calm. (If bugs scare you, call your doctor and have him/her remove it for you.)
  • The tick attaches to the skin using his mouth.
    • With your tweezers, gently put them around the tick as close to the skin as possible.
    • Firmly pull the tick straight back (in the direction of the tick’s butt). Removing a Tick with Tweezers
    • Be careful not to squeeze the tweezers too hard; the goal is to get all of the tick in one piece, not squish him.
    • Also, do not twist the tick or you may leave mouth parts inside your skin. (If that happens, try to remove the rest of the tick with your tweezers.)
  • Place the tick into a plastic bag and seal it. Wash the area with rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or other type of disinfectant.
  • Monitor the area for the next few days to see if a red bulls-eye type rash (or any type of rash) develops. If the area seems inflamed or has a rash or you develop a fever, see your doctor immediately and don’t forget to bring the tick.

Side Note:

If the thought of your tweezers around the body of a tick sends shivers down your spine, for less than $5 you can invest in a tick remover (also called a tick spoon or tick key). Directions for using them are on the package. Tick removers are found in most stores that sell camping equipment or on their websites. Here’s a list of online places:

Games – Scavenger Hunt

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Since we try to teach our scouts the “Leave No Trace” principles while they are outdoors, scavenger hunts can be challenging. Here is a “scavenger” hunt we use periodically. While there are natural items on this list, we stress to the boys that they can only pick up the stuff on the ground (never off of a living plant).

We also paired a Webelos scout with a Tiger scout so that the older boy can read the list and make sure the younger boy stays safe. We gave each team a paper bag (“lunchbag”), the list, and little pencils (the kind you use for golf). It’s really fun to see the reaction from the dads and moms when the scouts ask them for “items”.

This hunt can satisfy the following:

  • Bear Achievement 15b
  • Wolf Achievement 10b
  • Tiger Elective 35

Spooky Hike: Hunt for the Jersey Devil

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A fun and spooky way to celebrate Halloween with the scouts is to take a hike and search for the Jersey Devil down in the Pine Barrens.  Of course, the Pine Barrens is HUGE so it may take a while.  If you’ve never heard about the legend, click on this cool website for kids to find out more (and yes, the State of NJ runs this website — that IS cool!)

You can join an organized hike or grab a flashlight and search for him on your own.  Here are a few places to begin your search:

Organized Hunts

Trails and Parks to explore on your own

Corn Maze, Hay Rides, Pumpkin and more on our NJ Farms

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Map of NJ CountiesSince we live in the Garden State, it’s no surprise to find an abundance of farms in nearly every county.  Here is a small list of farms that have corn mazes, hay rides, pumpkins and so much more.  Support your neighbors; buy local produce (“Jersey Fresh”) and have some fun at the same time!

Depending on which farm you visit, you may be able to satisfy one or more of these requirements:  Tiger (1g, 5g), Wolf (10c), Bear (3c, 3d, 8e, 10a, 12b 12c, 12d), Webelos (Naturalist 10, Traveler 1-6)

  • Alstede Farms (Morris)
  • Argos Farm (Ocean)
  • Black River & Western Railroad (Hunterdon)
    • This is a special train to “Pumpkin Junction” that departs from the Flemington Station
    • 80 Stangl Road, Flemington
    • (908) 782-6622
    • Make your reservations only on their website
    • www.flemingtontrain.org/
  • Bullock Farms (Monmouth)
  • Butterhof’s Shady Brook Farm (Atlantic)
    • 5800 White Horse Pike, Egg Harbor City
    • (609) 965-1285
    • Opens September 17, 2014; call to make reservation
    • www.shadybrookfarmnj.com
  • Creamy Acres (Gloucester)
    • 448 Lincoln Mill Rd, Mullica Hill
    • (856) 223-1669
    • Opens September 13, 2014
    • www.creamyacres.com
  • Conklin Farm U-Pick (Morris)
  • Conte’s Farm (Burlington)
  • Delaware River Railroad Excursions (Warren)
  • Donaldson Farms (Warren)
  • Doyle’s Unami Farms (Somerset)
  • Emery’s Farm (Ocean)
  • Etsch Farms (Middlesex)
  • Fairfield Farms (Essex)
  • Grochowicz Farms (Hunterdon)
    • 2401 Rte 31, Glen Gardner
    • (908) 537-6130
    • Opens October 4, 2014
    • www.grofarms.com
  • Happy Day Farm (Monmouth)
  • Heaven Hill Farm (Sussex)
  • Horse Sleigh Farm (Warren)
  • Howell Living History Farm (Hunterdon)
  • K & S Farms (Mercer)
  • The McCann Farm (Gloucester)
  • Middle Valley Farms (Morris)
  • Norz Hill Farm (Somerset)
  • Ort Farms (Morris)
  • R and J Farm (Atlantic)
    • 723 W Hershel St, Galloway
    • (609) 593-6180
    • Opens September 20, 2014
    • www.RandJfarm.com
  • Russo’s Orchard Lane Farm (Burlington)
  • Sahl’s Father Son Farm (Atlantic)
    • 420 W. Pestalozzi St, Galloway
    • (609) 965-9300
    • Opens September 20, 2014
    • fathersonfarm.com
  • Scarecrow Hollow Cornfield Maze (Salem)
  • Springdale Farms (Camden)
  • Stony Hill Farms (Morris)
  • Tranquility Farms (Warren)
  • Turhune Orchards (Mercer)
  • Von Thun Farms (Middlesex)
  • West Portal Pumpkin Patch (Warren)

National Public Lands Day – September 27, 2014

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National Public Lands Day 2014National Public Lands Day began in 1994 when approximately 700 volunteers helped to maintain 3 sites. Last year was the 20th anniversary and 175,000 volunteers cleaned up 2,237 sites.

Although this began as a way to help Federal parks, the state and local parks are joining in! If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity, I’ve listed a few here. And if you don’t want to clean up, all of the National Parks are offering free admission so feel free to enjoy what they offer.

  • National Public Lands Day at Wharton State Forest
  • National Estuaries Day Hike & Clean Up
  • National Public Lands Day in Woodbridge Township
  • National Public Lands Day Volunteer Session at Mapleton Preserve
    • 2pm – 4pm
    • Bring your rake or shovel, sturdy shoes and hat
    • Mapleton Preserve is at the D & R Canal State Park Headquarters
    • 145 Mapleton Road, Kingston (NOTE: GPS/Mapquest will give wrong address)
    • (609) 683-0483
    • fpnl.org

County Parks in NJ

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NJ County MapHere is a list of the Parks System websites for the counties in NJ. It’s a great way to begin searching for events, hiking trails, campgrounds or places to visit.

The first link will take you to the main county website.  The second link will show the parks department’s website.

 

 

National Parks located in NJ

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US Parks & Historical Sites located in NJHere is a list of the websites for the National Parks that are found in NJ.  It’s a great way to begin searching for events, hiking trails, campgrounds or places to visit.

NJ State Marinas

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Map of NJ State Park RegionsHere is a list of the websites for the NJ State Marinas.

NJ State Parks

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Map of NJ State Park RegionsHere is a list of the websites for the NJ State Parks and Recreation Areas. It’s a great way to begin searching for events, hiking trails, campgrounds or places to visit. 

If you click on the map, you can view the parks sorted by region.