Ticks

I hiked after work yesterday at the Northeast Penjajawoc Preserve in Bangor.   I've hiked (and blogged about hiking) there multiple times so instead I'd like to share information about ticks (I had a tick on my boot and spotted two others on grass during the hike).

I hate ticks and take precautions to avoid them (permitherin, avoiding hikes in tall grass and stylishly tucking my pants legs into my socks).  Despite this I recently found a tick embedded in me.   

The tick had likely been there less than six hours.  Given that medical professionals tend not to treat for Lyme unless the tick was embedded for 24 or more hours, I researched alternative treatments and learned that Johns Hopkins recently found certain homeopathic substances may be effective against Lyme.   Interestingly one of the substances - Japanese Knotweed - also happens to be a highly invasive plant in Maine.   

I'm not a big believer in homeopathic medicine but trust research from Johns Hopkins and wanted to share this finding for those of you interested in post exposure prophylactic treatment of Lyme.