Tick Prevention

When the weather starts to warm up, it’s the time of year to tighten up your defenses when it comes to ticks in order to reduce your exposure to them. Tick exposure can occur year-round but they are most active during the warmer months (typically April-September)

Ticks carry a bunch of tickborne diseases, like Lyme disease, and is typically transmitted by deer ticks which are small and difficult to see (about the size of a pinhead).  But don’t let ticks stop you from spending time in the great outdoors.

Where you can expect to find Ticks

Ticks can be found in areas with high weeds, brushy wooded areas, thick underbrush, and on animals.  Just about any time you go roaming around in the woods, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get a tick on you. Many people even get ticks from their own yards!

Here are a number of ways to help prevent ticks:

• Pre-treat your shoes and clothing with a product like Permethrin Spray by Sawyer Products or Repel Permethrin Clothing & Gear Insect Repellent prior to heading out into the woods. ‘Permethrin’ is a commonly used tick pesticide that’s applied to clothing and shoes and it can last for several washings. Permethrin has to FULLY dry on your clothing/shoes prior to wearing, in order for it to be effective.  DO NOT APPLY THIS PRODUCT ON YOUR SKIN!

• For your skin, you can use an all-natural product like Cedarcide bug oil, which you can spray on your skin prior to hitting the woods. Deet is another commonly used tick repellent that can be applied to the skin. The higher the Deet percentage, the better protection you will have.

• Wear light-colored long pants and tuck them into your boots or socks. Why? Because ticks are easy to spot on light-colored clothing and tucking your pants in your boots or socks helps to keep ticks on your clothing instead of allowing them to secretly crawl up your legs.  Also wear a long sleeve shirt and tuck your shirt in your pants to keep them off your skin and put long hair up in a ponytail.

• Always conduct quick tick checks on yourself while on your outing to see if you spot anything crawling around.  Some ticks, especially in the nymph stage, can be almost impossible to spot. Keep a lint roller in your backpack and roll your legs every now and then just in case you missed one.

• Avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass, weeds, and leaf litter when you can and walk in the center of trails.

What to do when you first get home

• Check your clothing for ticks.

• Strip down and do an official tick check on yourself.  If you have a spouse, family member, or partner who can check your skin for you, that would be ideal.

• If your clothing doesn’t require washing, put your clothing into the dryer on the hot setting for at least 10-minutes.  This kills any ticks that may be hiding out in the folds of clothing, etc.

• If your clothing requires washing, wash your clothes in hot water. Cold and medium temperature water will not kill ticks. Dry your clothes on the hot setting to ensure all ticks are killed.

• Hop in the shower immediately.  Showering within 2 hours of coming indoors has been shown to reduce your risk of getting Lyme disease, etc.  Taking a shower can wash away any hidden ticks that haven't latched on and it's also the perfect opportunity to do a thorough tick check. If you live alone, use a hand or full-length mirror to check places you can't easily see on your own.  Ticks typically like to hide in body hair and warm places on your body.

  
  

Places to look where ticks like to hide include:

• Under the arms

• In and around the ears

• Inside your belly button

• Back of the knees

• In and around the hair (especially along the hairline)

• Between the legs/buttocks

• Around the waist

• Your back

What to do if there is a tick embedded in your skin

Simply use some sharp pointed tweezers and grab the tick as close to your skin as possible and pull it firmly but gently straight out. Sometimes, this will leave behind small black mouth parts of the tick in the skin. Don’t worry, these small mouthparts do not transmit Lyme disease and just leave them alone. They will work their way out on their own. Wash the area with soap and water and clean it with rubbing alcohol. 

The most important point here is to remove the tick quickly. Removing a tick in the first 24 hours dramatically reduces the risk of Lyme disease and is your best protection in preventing yourself from getting Lyme disease. Contact your doctor if you have found an embedded tick or if you had to remove a tick so that they can prescribe an antibiotic for you.

If you can find the tick you removed, keep the tick in a resealable bag.  This way the tick can be tested if desired or if you start showing any unusual symptoms (like aches, pains, fever, headache, etc.)

Track your symptoms from a tick bite

Immediately start tracking any symptoms that are out of the ordinary.  On a calendar or diary, write down any flu-like symptoms, headache, fever, ringing in the ears, weird numbness or tingling, facial palsy, nausea, migrating pain, joint swelling, night sweats. Basically, write down anything that is not normal for you.  Symptoms of tick-borne diseases can begin anywhere from 1-3 days to 4-6 weeks after the bite.

Observe the bite site over the next three weeks for any signs of a rash. Take pictures of any visible changes anywhere on your body (not just the bite site). Place a quarter or tape measure next to any rash for size reference.

Let your doctor know immediately of any signs of illness. 

While a tick bite can be concerning, there's no need to panic. Most tick bites are harmless, and if you follow proper steps to remove the tick and watch for potential symptoms, the risk of serious infection is minimized.