Top Gear Tick Control: Full Speed Ahead in the Battle Against Lyme Disease

NASCAR is rapidly becoming the sport of Lyme Disease awareness. Perhaps that makes sense, as it’s the sport with the fastest drivers in America, while Lyme is one of the fastest growing infectious diseases.

We first reported on NASCAR’s involvement with the battle against Lyme disease last October, with the story of a custom-designed racing livery for the Racing Lyme Disease Awareness Team. That gave NASCAR fans an unexpected introduction to the issue of Lyme disease awareness.

Now Lyme disease is set to reach an even bigger NASCAR audience.

International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) is preparing to broadcast a short film on Lyme disease on the jumbotron at the legendary Daytona 500.

“This pro bono spot will draw more attention to the need for better diagnosis,” says Donna Weidel, President of Burgess Communications and one of the driving forces behind the unusual ad campaign. “Lyme is estimated to be growing faster than AIDS and has become a global health problem.”

One of the reasons NASCAR is a logical platform for raising awareness of the illness is because NASCAR is a southern institution that’s become a nationwide phenomenon. That mirrors how Lyme disease has always been considered an “east coast disease” but has since been found to have spread to 49 of the 50 United States.

Hopefully, as a result of the ILADS campaign, NASCAR fans from coast to coast will become more aware of the dangers of Lyme disease – and the debilitating effect it can have on people. The next step they need to take is to protect themselves; by preventing the tick bites which are the #1 vector for infection.

Preventing tick bites starts by establishing a tick control program at home; where 70% of tick bites and Lyme disease infections occur.
A tick control specialist, like the experts at Aspenn Environmental Services, will be able to get rid of ticks from your back yard or garden with a yard spray for ticks; and then keep your property tick-free all year round with tick spray treatments at regular intervals; designed to eliminate ticks at every stage of their life cycle.

With Lyme disease just as widespread as the NASCAR fan base, tick control at home is a precaution no racing fan should go without.