When you're camping, you'll probably spend more time enjoying the outdoors than you do at home. Your routine may include hiking in the woods or mountains. On the road and at home, outdoor activities can present special challenges. Be prepared to deal with insects, ticks, snakes and other reptiles and poisonous plants.

In North America, more people die as a result of bee stings than from snakebites. These include wasps, yellow jackets, hornets, bumblebees and honeybees. Here are some pointers:

• Do not disturb them or their nests.
  
• Wear neutral colored clothing; bright colors and black attract bees.
  
• Do not wear perfume, cologne, aftershave or scented lotions.
  
• Keep food covered at all times.
  
• Sweet foods are particularly attractive to bees.
  
• Cover sweet beverages (beer, wine, soda) and don't drink from cans.
  
• Do not leave food on picnic tables.
  
• Do not put wildflowers on picnic tables.
  
• Wear shoes; yellow jackets live in the ground.
  
• Wasps, hornets and yellow jackets frequently attack in swarms of thousands; the results can be fatal.
  
• Keep your kids away from all bee and hornet nests; throwing rocks or other debris at a nest invites disaster.

• Wear loose clothing made of tightly woven materials.
  
• Darker colors are attractive to mosquitoes and black flies.
  
• Wear off-whites, olive green, light khakis, and similar colors.
  
• Test insect repellents to see what works best for your family.
  
• Enjoy a campfire; wind and smoke help keep biting insects away.

Ticks are most plentiful in wooded lands and tall grass. They cling to the underside of branches, grass, leaves and logs, and transfer from these hiding places to your clothing. From there, ticks travel upward, looking for bare skin. They can also land in your hair when you rub against the undersides of leaves and branches. Here are some tips for avoiding ticks:

• Wear long sleeved shirts and long pants.
  
• Wear clothing that fits snugly at the collar, wrists and ankles, and pull long socks over the bottom of your pant legs.
  
• Tuck in your outer garment.
  
• Light colored clothing helps you find ticks easily.
  
• Check your skin at least once a day.
  
• Ask a friend or family member to check your head, neck, behind your ears and your back.
  
• When you remove layers of clothing on the trail or at the campsite, do so over a light surface so you can spot ticks that drop off clothing.
  
• If you find one tick, look carefully for more.
  
• Apply a DEET-containing insect repellant to your skin and clothes.
  
  Removal of Ticks
  
• Don't try to remove a tick with your fingers; you may crack its shell and spread bacteria.
  
• Don't squeeze ticks; this causes a syringe effect that injects infectious material into your blood.
  
• Use specially designed tweezers or splinter pickers to grab the tick near its head.
  
• Pull up slowly on the tick's body; do not squeeze or twist.
  
• Do not dig ticks out of your skin.
  
• After removal, scrub the area gently with soap and water to kill bacteria.
  
• Ticks removed from your body should be placed in a sealed zip-type bag and taken to your doctor to be analyzed.
  
  Lyme Disease
  
• Lyme Disease is carried by the tiny deer tick.
  
• Early diagnosis allows a physician to prescribe preventive antibiotics in areas where the disease is endemic.
  
• About 60% of people infected with Lyme Disease develop a target-like rash around the tick's point of entry; without this telltale rash, the disease can progress undiagnosed to a hard-to-treat advanced stage that involves the brain, heart, and skeletal system.
  
  See a doctor immediately if:
  
• the tick's head remains in your skin and/or the site becomes infected.
  
• you develop a fever, a target-shaped rash, stiff neck, fatigue, swollen glands, or achiness in your head, muscles, or body.