Ticks Give Us the Ick

Ticks may be small, but they can have a big impact on your health.

As we enter into the warmer season, the risk of being bitten increases as well.

Ticks carry many diseases, so we often look out for them on a hike, but they can also be lurking in your own backyard.

Adrianne Rubiaco from the USDA Forest Service gives information about prevention, “During the months of May, June and July are when we start to see an increase in tick bites across the forest. One of the main ways is to wear light colored clothing when you are outside, because the ticks are a darker color. So then you can see them on your clothing and pick them off that way. Also wearing long sleeves, long pants, and then tucking your pants into your boots or into your socks as well. And that’s really to just reduce the amount of openings in your clothing where they could get under your clothing and onto your skin.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends bug spray that contain 20% DEET. In addition to yourself, make sure to routinely check your pets – even if they are going for a simple neighborhood walk. Rubiaco also suggests that people check themselves up to three days after potential exposure in case a “nymph” (baby tick) matures. When they are small, they are extremely difficult to see.

“… especially around your hairline waistband of your pants, leg openings, those areas, to ensure that you haven’t missed any, or any haven’t, shown up in those days since you were in that area. So we would definitely recommend checking out the CDC’s procedures for if you are bitten by a tick. But what you should do immediately is remove the tick. Make sure that you have the head of the tick included.”

Remember, ticks aren’t just in the forest, but found in routine areas like parks and yards as well. One thing that helps keep the population down in the neighborhoods however, is the opossum. Rubiaco adds; “…in this area, one of the main natural predators of ticks is the opossum, and they actually kill up to 90% of the ticks they encounter.”

The CDC offers a “tick identification” app and more information on their website.