Take a hike. Save a tick.

With blistering summer weather in full force and shiny new COVID-19 variants emerging like another season of "The Bachelor," many Americans have taken to the great outdoors–despite recently reported attacks by grizzly bears, alligators, and President Joe Biden's surviving German shepherd, Major (R.I.P. Champ).

And speaking of cantankerous canines, I normally limit my own experiences with nature to...