Seems the tick population is increasing the The Netherlands as well [0]. I am kinda scared to go outside in nature in The Netherlands, due to these little buggers.
I am kinda scared to go outside in nature in The Netherlands, due to these little buggers
Your fear isn't completely irrational, but not going outside anymore because of it would be (imo). Learning how to avoid them, or find them, or remove them, or spot symptoms (all in that order) should make the chances of any serious damage quite small. E.g. people often seem to forget it takes time, up to many hours, from a tick landing on your clothes to actually bite. (anecdotal, but I've spotted tens of times more ticks on me than I've actually been bitten). That is already quite a barrier: proper clothing + knowing how and where to check can reduce the chance of getting bitten. And even the, not all is lost. As it takes again many hours before any possible disease transmits. If there is already a disease, to start with. Since you're talking about the Netherlands: there's quite a difference between areas when it comes to rick of ticks actually carrying Lyme, see https://www.tekenradar.nl/ for instance.
Bitten? Past 10 years like 15 times or so. Spotted on my clothes or on me easily over 100.
You convinced me to never go outside
You're kidding, right? I got all those ticks just because I knowingly spent time in specific tick-heavy areas. I could also have chosen to avoid them, and those numbers would be close to zero.
