Category: Lyme Disease

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Into The Blogosphere with Lyme

“Are you in the Blogosphere?” my husband calls from another room.  As much as I would like to give a resounding “Yes!” to that question, it’s not always the case.  More often than not, I’m lost on Twitter or Facebook or “just browsing” the internet, ever searching for inspiration.  When I do blog, however, it’s a source of great enjoyment for me because it’s something I can do whenever I like from the comfort of my home.  It’s also something I can do with Lyme disease.

Blogging takes a lot of time, research and work but it also requires the blogger to have one very important tool at his or her disposal – energy! – that precious spark of life that keeps us rolling through our days.  For people with chronic Lyme disease, that spark can sometimes be hard to resurrect.  It gets buried under the aches, pains and profound fatigue that are a constant when living with Lyme.  There are days when I just have to rest and nothing else is going to happen, but even on those off days, I still find myself thinking about blogging and what I’ll be writing about next.  Blogging inspires me to keep moving forward in spite of my problems.

Because blogging (and writing in general) can be picked up and put down at any time, it’s the perfect career for people like myself who can’t depend on feeling well every day and for whom the typical 9 to 5 situation is just not going to happen.  It’s also a great pastime for retired folks who have so much life experience to share.  It can be a form of mentoring where others can turn to our blogs for help with their own issues of daily living.  We learn through the practice of blogging and by reading other people’s blogs – they’re a wonderful resource!

When I first thought about blogging earlier this year, I had no idea where to begin.  I knew that I enjoyed writing and wanted a platform where my writing could be seen but making that happen was more than a little daunting for this old gal who was not particularly computer savvy.  The good news is that by consulting other bloggers, I got all the information I needed to start.  By chance I happened upon Amy Lynn Andrews, an amazing woman and veteran blogger, who shares all her hard-won information on her website.  I was astounded by how easy her step-by-step tutorials were to follow and in a very short period of time I was up and running with my own blog.  It was a confidence-building turning point for me!

Today, I regularly check out other bloggers and have found many writers with Lyme disease and other chronic illnesses.  Like me, blogging has given them a new lease on life.  It’s a place where we can share our stories, encourage each other and provide inspiration to keep going through whatever life throws at us.  So here I go once again, into the Blogosphere!

person woman apple hotel
Photo by Stokpic on Pexels.com

To see the many blogging tips Amy Lynn Andrews has to offer click on this link: https://amylynnandrews.com/

For more on writing as a career, click on this link: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/cmd.php?af=1685196

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Killing Ticks with Diatomaceous Earth

We have to face the fact that we cannot stop the deer, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and raccoons from bringing disease-carrying ticks into our suburban yards. We can only work to kill the ticks that are already here and try to do so with safety in mind for all living things.

animals cute deer fawn
Photo by Artur Roman on Pexels.com

What is Diatomaceous Earth and how does it work:

According to the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) website, “diatomaceous earth is made from the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. Their skeletons are made of a natural substance called silica. Over a long period of time, diatoms accumulated in the sediment of rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. Today, silica deposits are mined from these areas.”

“Diatomaceous earth is not poisonous; it does not have to be eaten in order to be effective. Diatomaceous earth causes insects to dry out and die by absorbing the oils and fats from the cuticle of the insect’s exoskeleton. Its sharp edges are abrasive, speeding up the process.”

How we started using Diatomaceous Earth:  

About four years ago my husband sent out an email to friends asking if anyone had suggestions for getting rid of ticks in the yard.  One person suggested trying diatomaceous earth (DE) since it had been used successfully in kennels and the “food grade” type was considered safe and non-toxic.  This was good news for us since we drank water from a well and were against using chemicals.  We immediately did an online search and purchased a 10 lb. bag of what looked like white talcum powder.

At that time we could not go out into our yard without finding deer ticks crawling on us.  Both my husband and myself had been bitten many times and I had already been diagnosed with Lyme disease.  Although we took every precaution such as wearing light-colored clothing, tucking our pants into socks, using Deet repellents and religiously checking our clothing and bodies after being outdoors, it still wasn’t enough – the ticks were winning every battle!

It was late spring, prime deer tick season in our area of northeastern Massachusetts.  Before using the DE outside, my husband decided to try an experiment.  Using the “white sheet test,” he dragged a sheet over the grass in our yard to see how many ticks would cling to it, thus getting a tick count.  There were 22 ticks in a three hundred square foot area!  In addition, he took some of those ticks and placed them into a small container with the diatomaceous earth overnight.  In the morning they were lying on their backs with legs up, completely dried out and looking very dead.  This was all the encouragement we needed to put the diatomaceous earth to the back yard test!

After checking online for a recipe of sorts, my husband mixed a ratio of about 1 1/2 cups of the DE to one gallon of water in a large watering can.  This was then “sprinkled” over the areas in our yard where ticks congregated.  It left a fine white powder on the grass, plants and rock walls that surrounded our lawn.  After a rain, the powder disappeared but we hoped it would not lose its effectiveness.  It turned out we were not to be disappointed.  Two weeks later a second “white sheet test” in the same area came back with no ticks attached.  Although we were still waging war, we had won our first battle!

The Continuing Saga:

Over the course of the last four years, we’ve applied diatomaceous earth to our yard twice a year, in the spring and fall.  We’ve since upgraded to using a sprayer which makes the application faster and easier, but a watering can is fine for small areas. Each spring has brought fewer tick sightings until this spring when, amazingly, we found no ticks at all!  Is it the DE or just environmental changes that are affecting the tick population?  We can’t say for sure.  All we know is that this is the first year in many that we haven’t had to deal with deer ticks and we are very pleased with the results!

What you need to know about using Diatomaceous Earth:

The DiatomaceousEarth.com website suggests purchasing food-grade DE.  They state, “Generally, this is the best grade to use. For almost all the uses described in our articles, we recommend using food grade. It’s a multipurpose product that can be used in your home, yard or garden.”  They also recommend wearing a dust mask when using the product to avoid inhaling the fine powder and wearing gloves to protect the skin from the drying effects of DE.  Visit their website for more information.

DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links to the companies listed below. When you click through on a link and make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank You! 

You can purchase 2 lb. and 10 lb. bags of food grade Diatomaceous Earth here:

You can also purchase appropriate dust masks here: