General Tick Information

                                         General Tick information:
Ticks do not jump or fly; they wait on the forest floor, leaf litter, or low vegetation and attach to the feet or shoes of people or legs of animals as they pass by. The ticks then crawl upward. 

The following steps can reduce your risk of tick- borne diseases: 

• Avoid potential tick habitats such as forest leaf litter and low vegetation in shaded areas, forests, and forest edges. 

• Walk in the center of trails to avoid brushing against vegetation. 

• Keep grass cut and underbrush thinned in yards. If pesticides are used for tick control, follow directions carefully or hire a professional to apply the pesticide. 

• Eliminate wood piles and objects that provide cover and nesting sites for small rodents around your property. 

• Wear light-colored clothing so that ticks are easier to see and remove. 

• Tuck pant legs into socks and boots, tuck shirts into pants, and wear long-sleeved shirts buttoned at the wrist. 

• Apply tick repellent to areas of the body and clothing that may come in contact with tick habitat. Repellents for use on skin include those containing up to 50% DEET for adults or less than 30% for children. A repellent/insecticide containing permethrin may be applied to shoes, socks, pants and other clothing, but should not be used on skin. Follow directions carefully and do not overuse.

Ask your veterinarian to recommend tick control methods for your pets. Animals can get Lyme disease and Ehrlichiosis, but they do not transmit these diseases to people.

                                                        Tick Removal

Because ticks do not transmit disease until they have been attached to the host for several hours or several days, it is very important to remove ticks as soon as they are found. 

The following is the best way to remove a tick:

 • Grasp the tick with tweezers as close to the skin as possible and gently, but firmly, pull it straight out. Avoid any twisting or jerking motion that may break off the mouth parts in the skin. Mouth parts left in the wound may cause irritation or infection similar to a reaction from a splinter. 

• If tweezers are not available, be careful not to squeeze or rupture the tick’s swollen abdomen while removing it. This may cause an infectious agent to infect the bite site. 

• After the tick has been removed, wash hands with soap and water. Apply a topical antiseptic to the bite site.

• You can dispose of the tick by drowning it in alcohol or flushing it down a drain or toilet. However, it may be useful to save the tick in alcohol for several weeks and have it identified by an expert in case you become ill. Knowing what kind of tick bit you might help your doctor diagnose the illness. 

• Tick removal using nail polish, petroleum jelly, alcohol or a hot match is not safe. These methods might cause the tick to regurgitate an infectious agent into the site of the bite.

For more information:
http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/environmental-epidemiology/vector-borne-disease-control/tick-free-summer/ 

Please have a safe and Tick free summer!