Writer and avid hiker Mark LaFlamme, armed with bug spray, knowledge and a rigorous tick-check regimen, isn’t afraid to enjoy Maine’s outdoors despite its growing list of threats. (Courtesy of Corey LaFlamme)

Since I got pummeled by anaplasmosis, my de-tickification ritual has become rather extreme.

For starters, I carry a whole bunch of lint rollers, the kind that uses sticky paper to pluck fuzz off your fabrics. Whenever I come out of the woods, I get as naked as is tasteful for the situation and I then run that roller over every inch of me in hopes of removing any clinging vectors of death that may have wandered onto my skin.

I shake my hiking clothes vigorously and change into something fresh, if possible. At home, I throw all my hiking clothes into the dryer on its highest, most tick-killing setting.

Griffin Dill, director of the Tick Lab at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, approves of the tactic.

“They can survive a wash cycle,” he said. “But the high heat of the dryer can kill them off pretty quickly.”

I then take a shower and use a particularly rough scrubby to scourge my flesh. If ticks are found on me in spite of my efforts, I remove them — or rather have my more steady-handed wife remove them — with a commercially available tick remover.

There is a vast array of tick removal gadgets available on the market. The one I prefer is basically a spoon with slots in it that can be manipulated open or closed by squeezing. This helps capture a tick even if its partially or totally embedded in your flesh and seems to work better than simple tweezers, which may leave the bug’s head still buried in your skin.

The use of bug sprays, wipes or lotions with 20%-30% DEET is recommended before one sets out into the forest or backyard, and Dill warns to not skip the stuff even if it happens to be a cold day or later in the season.

The chemical permethrin is used by some tick-averse folks as a way to treat clothing and hopefully repel the beasts. Some people balk at using it because it can be toxic for cats. According to Dill, though, there are ways to use permethrin that won’t imperil your kitty.

“Permethrin is perhaps the most effective tick repellent available, so treating clothing, shoes and gear is a highly recommended personal protection method,” Dill said. “While it can be toxic to cats, once the product is dry, it poses less of a risk. The clothing that comes pre-impregnated with permethrin is also a good option. As with any repellent or pesticide option, adhering to the product label is not only important, it’s the law,” he said.

The folks at the Tick Lab also suggest wearing long pants tucked into socks while out in the wilds, along with wearing lighter-colored clothes so ticks are easier to spot.

This is one of the tips I ignore because when I hike, it’s shorts or nothing, bro.

The Tick Lab also recommends natural repellents like lemon eucalyptus, while one of our readers insists that tea tree oil will likewise keep the ticks off you.

More tick prevention tips can be found at the excellent Tick Lab website at extension.umaine.edu/ticks. One can also read about the 15 tick varieties common to Maine there, along with the various bacteria, viruses and parasites they inject you with.

There are plenty of photographs to look at on the website, too, which will be extra fun for the squeamish.