From Stephen Wikel, professor emeritus of medical sciences at Quinnipiac University’s Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine, comes this advice, via HealthDay, about how to stay safe from ticks:
- Protect your ankles. Wear long pants tucked into high socks when doing yard work. Wrap duct tape — sticky-side out — around where the pants and socks meet so that crawling ticks get stuck on the tape.
- Dress properly. Use clothing, tents and other gear treated with repellent, such as permethrin. This repellent kills ticks, mosquitoes, chiggers and mites. These products are available online or at sporting goods stores.
- Wear repellent. Apply topical insect repellent that contains less than 40 percent DEET. Children should use repellent that contains no more than 30 percent DEET, Wikel said.
- Conduct tick checks. “Tick bites are painless, so if you are in an area with ticks, perform a thorough tick check and remove ticks immediately,” he advised.
- Don’t forget pets.“The neurotransmitter blockers in anti-tick treatments and flea collars are very effective in keeping ticks from biting pets,” said Wikel. “When pets come indoors, check for crawling ticks to prevent them from getting off your pet and on to you.”
- Create a tick-free zone. You can make your yard less attractive to rodent, deer and other tick-carriers. Keeping lawns trimmed and creating barriers between your yard and the woods with wood chips, mulch or gravel can eliminate tall grasses where ticks crawl. Remove wood piles and stones where mice, chipmunks and squirrels may hide. These little critters keep tick larva and nymphs circulating in nature.
- Hike carefully. Stay in the center of hiking trails to avoid contact with vegetation.