CLARK COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A warm May morning feels like the perfect time to soak in the great outdoors. That's where you'll find Craig Caudill, the director of Nature Reliance School in Clark County.
"A lot of what we teach is survival, but it's really safety, more than anything else," said Caudill.
Outdoor safety includes ticks. Warmer weather means more Kentuckians are headed outdoors and could be exposed to ticks on a hike or even at a park.
Caudill knows all about ticks and the diseases they can carry. The avid outdoorsman has been diagnosed with Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease.
That's partly why he's passionate about informing nature lovers before they head outside.
"Getting those things off of you is key, keeping them off you is going to be real key to doing that," said Caudill.
Caudill says you don't have to be scared of ticks, but you should be aware. Ticks thrive in warm, damp places.
"A lot of people are afraid to go out and get ticks on them," he said. "if you get ticks on you, it's not the end of you. You can easily pull them off. There's also things you can do to easily prevent them getting on you in the first place."
Caudill recommends a spray like permethrin, an insecticide that comes in aerosol cans and pump sprays. It's available at outdoor stores and lasts for multiple washes on clothing. You can also use deet or picaridin.
Finally, Caudill says to make sure you're consistently checking for ticks, even on hard-to-see body parts.
"They're gonna get in those crevices, they're gonna get in those hard to reach spots, behind the knee, in the armpit," he said.
