Hey y'all! I'm starting to explore mudding in July around NJ and I'm looking for some tips from people who are pros.

My biggest questions are around safety.
- I imagine horseflies and ticks are an issue in the summer. Any prevention tips?
- Do y'all bring anything to help with getting stuck?
- What about any waterborne bugs? How do you mitigate risk there when you're going under?
- Any clean up tips?

Thanks for any advice you guys have!

Doing mud for the first time often feels strange and your right to ask questions. I would suggest you take your time in searching for a location, go several times and check the area out! also if your able do a background check to see what the site was before if its in an industrial location - a former quarry or dump! this would help as you don't want to dive in and find its too deep or your jumping into rubble and or metal below the mud that would cause an injury.

In terms of safety ALWAYS take water to drink! some food and a small pocket fist aid kit, I always take a role ladder and two steel pins as helpful means of climbing out if you get into difficulty. It is recommended to wear clothing and or tight shorts! - cleaning up afterwards a solar shower works wonders. ( Never go somewhere on your own - take a friend even if they are there to watch and film you )

I would also make sure you are up to date with hepatitis injections and weil's disease

This is great advice! thank you!

Google Maps is a great tool to assist you. Get good at recognizing quarries, estuaries, and marshes.

Bring a backpack filled with as much water as you can carry, for both staying hydrated and for cleanup. Sunscreen too. For ticks, get bug spray with deet and douse your feet/legs in it. Always check every crease on your body after you leave the woods. Horseflies are a biggest nuisance during cleanup, since all the bug spray was probably washed away in the mud. Depending on your area, you may have no choice but to take a bite or 2. If that happens, wash with soap and apply antibacterial ointment to the bite. And of course reapply bug spray once you're all washed off.

If you are going the quarry route, just know that most of the good ones are in active use on private property, so you'll have to figure out the logistics of that on your own.

As for tidal mud and salt marshes, make sure it's low tide. Watch for oyster beds, move slowly through the mud, and wear a couple pairs of socks or some shoes for oyster defense. Close to the shore there can be tons of oyster shells hidden directly under the surface that can cut your feet. Some spots have too many oysters, some spots have almost none, and since the marsh is constantly shifting, the oyster-heavy spots can be concealed where they were once visible. There are worms in the mud that can occasionally bite, but they usually leave you alone. If you get bit, wash the bite site with soap and apply antibacterial ointment. Jellyfish can also be encountered. Also it smells like sulphur, you will need baking soda to remove the smell if you don't want to smell for the next 2-3 days.

Note that it is impossible to sink all the way like in movies and tv. Mud of all varieties is always denser than the human body. So if you get stuck, don't freak out. The solution is to spread your body weight evenly over the mud by laying yourself flat. First you reach down with both arms and pull your legs out, one at a time (your upper torso will sink further during this process, but that's not important, it won't get stuck like your legs, you won't drown, so don't freak out). Once your legs are no longer stuck, wiggle/roll and maneuver your body until you are in a prone position. Then simply crawl/roll/slide your way out. Don't try to "walk" out, you will just get your feet stuck again. Quarry clay is usually way denser and stickier and harder to move in than marsh mud, which is light and slimy and easy to slide through. Of course you can still drown if you dive head-first with some decent momentum from a high spot into thick mud and get stuck, so just don't do that

Let someone know the general area you're going and when you plan on returning

Finally, the risk that a lot of us often aren't aware of or neglect to mention: pathogens and microbes like ecoli, flesh eating bacteria, and brain eating amoebas thrive in mud. There is no avoiding the risk, however low it may be. I haven't heard of anyone in the community dying yet, so the risk is honestly low, but it's there. So if you ever experience fever or throbbing pain around a cut on a day following a mud romp, go to the hospital immediately or you will die.