I wanted to let your readers know that the Inter-Island Public Health Excellence Collaborative, which funds the Martha’s Vineyard Tick Program as well as other joint Boards of Health programs, has arranged for Islanders and visitors to receive a 15 per cent discount on all Insect Shield products and services.

You can order permethrin-treated clothing from them or send your own clothes to be treated. I have done a combination of both so that I have socks, pants and shirts that protect me from tick bites. I then treat my shoes myself with permethrin spray you can find at SBS, Basics, Brickman’s, etc., or purchase from Insect Shield.

The spray-at-home solution lasts six weeks or six washings (whichever is sooner). Insect Shield treatment lasts 70. As a year-round Chilmark resident, I have never gotten a tick bite while wearing permethrin-treated clothes. Their website is InsectShield.com. Just be sure to use the discount code MARTHASV2024 at checkout.

Lea Hamner, Chilmark

The writer is the epidemiologist for the inter-Island Public Health Excellence Collaborative.