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I've heard that there is a problem at this park. How bad is it? As bad as it would be in any other park? If so, why just in this park? Is it bad enough that one should not camp there? Especially with 2 kids.
Well Heckscher has pretty wide trails, so avoiding ticks shouldn't be too hard. Its much harder avoiding them in places like Sears-Bellows and South Haven, because more of the trails are overgrown. Unfortunately the ticks are present anywhere it is wooded. Best advice is to get Permethrin clothing spray, which is available at Dicks sporting goods (used to be at Walmart too) and spray your shoes, socks, and pants. Any ticks that come in contact with the clothing will die. It remains effective for a month, even through washings. DEET is a scam and is useless against ticks.
You don't just get ticks from brushing up against tall grass. If you sit on low cut grass in Hecksher, you can get them. I had a deer tick crawling on me at a picnic at Hecksher this year, and I didn't go anywhere near tall grass. The place is crawling with deer, which means that it is crawling with deer ticks.
A BIG 10-4! We camped there 2 years ago. Didnt go into high grass or weeds. We dug 2 ticks out of my son when we got home. We go to the general picnic & playgrounds atleast once a week & have had not gotten a tick on us yet there.
Check yourself every 20 minutes. Also wear light colored clothing so you can spot them and tuck your pant legs into your socks. Prevents them from getting under your pants and going up your leg.
We went there last year in the summer for BBQ and fun.... we did not have any issues with ticks, but our bodies were covered with mosquitoes.... we practically had a 1/2 inch layer of repellent on our skin.
Check out the parks website for alerts, there is always a West Nile alert posted on their website.
Hekscher is the worst. I used to play softball there and we could actually see ticks crawling on our bags. All of us had a tick embedded in us at one time or another during the course of the season. Many had more than 1 tick. I won't go there anymore for this reason.
I have a toddler who will more than likely be all over the grass so that is my main concern.
Definitely will get ticks. No doubt in my mind.
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