Camping out is a fantastic activity for Ohio families to participate in throughout the summer. Our state offers many sites that are family friendly, have accommodations for special needs visitors, and a plethora of outdoor opportunities for recreation. Even your backyard can be a perfect place to camp and relax with nature.

While making your list of items to take for a camping trip, don’t forget your lint roller!

This simple device can be very helpful for removing ride along ticks from clothing. Roll yourself and your family frequently to try to detect and remove ticks before they bite. While a lint roller is not effective at removing all ticks and will not remove an embedded tick, it is a low cost and easy to use tool that can keep you tick conscious and do thorough tick checks.

Our region is home to multiple types of ticks that can transmit diseases to humans. Preventative measures including wearing insect repellent, wearing light colored clothes, and covering your skin can all reduce your chances of being bitten. If you are bitten by a tick, get your tweezers ready and a container to save the tick. Remove it appropriately by grasping it as close to the skin as possible and pulling straight up, wash the bite with soap and water, save the tick for testing, and watch for symptoms related to the bite. Consult a physician if concerns arise.

Ticks can cause health issues that include: Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, anaplasmosis, Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness, Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever, and tularemia.

A variety of resources are available from OSU Extension and the Ohio Department of Health about ticks and disease prevention including our tick website (https://u.osu.edu/tick/resources/) and our tick fact sheet (https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/HYG-2073).

There are other dangers out there (poison ivy, stinging insects, inedible fruits etc.) among the delights of Ohio’s outdoor recreation sites that children and parents should be aware of and consider before a nature adventure. Discuss these with your family so that everyone can have fun while avoiding discomfort or illness.

The following infographic can be downloaded (HERE) to print and take on your camping adventures as a reminder. It is designed to be understandable for preschool aged children and older.

Take your lint roller, your bug spray, your sunscreen, and plenty of water along for your next Ohio outdoor excursion.