05/15/2020
With the opening of parks and natural lands throughout New Jersey there has been a surge of “First Time Visitors” into these environments.
TICK SEASON IS UPON US… experts say this could bad one.
A mild winter coupled with an excessively rainy 2019-2020 may lead to a surge in the number of ticks capable of transmitting Lyme disease this spring, according to researchers at Rutgers University. More ticks will be out in force as temperatures begin to rise after thriving last summer and fall, and surviving the winter thanks to favorable weather.
Tips on avoiding a tick bite:
• Your best defense against tick-borne illness is to avoid contact with ticks in the first place. Your next best defense is to quickly find and remove any ticks that may latch on to you.
• Avoid Tick Habitat: Ticks tend to be near the ground, in leaf litter, grasses, bushes and fallen logs. High risk activities include playing in leaves, gathering firewood and leaning against tree trunks. When you hike, stay on cleared trails instead of walking across grassy fields.
Dress Defensively
• Wear shoes, socks, long pants and long sleeves. Tie back long hair and wear a hat. Light-colored clothing helps you spot ticks before they cause trouble.
• You can purchase clothing that has been pre-treated with the repellent permethrin at outdoor recreation stores. (The protection lasts through 70 washings.) Or, you can purchase permethrin and spray clothing yourself. (Protection lasts 5-6 washings.) Be sure to treat both the inside and outside of clothes.
• Spraying footwear with permethrin will prevent ticks from crawling up your shoes. (In one study, those with treated shoes had 74% fewer tick bites than those with untreated shoes.)
Use Repellent on Exposed Skin
• Studies show that repellents with DEET, picaridin or lemon eucalyptus oil are the most effective.
Check for Ticks
• When outdoors, periodically inspect your clothing and skin for ticks. Brush off those that aren’t attached and remove any that are.
Shower
• Once home, take a shower right away. This will wash away unattached ticks and offer a good chance to thoroughly inspect yourself. Feel for bumps that might be embedded ticks. Pay careful attention to hidden places, including groin, armpits, back of knees, belly button and scalp. Parents should check their children.
Hot Dryer
• Running your clothes in a hot dryer for 10 minutes before you wash them will kill any ticks that may be there.
Protect Your Pets
• Ticks can infect dogs and cats, too. Also, their fur can act like a “tick magnet,” carrying ticks inside your home. Consult with your veterinarian about tick-protection for your pets.
If a tick bites you:
• Don’t squeeze, twist or squash it. Don’t burn it with a match or cover it with Vaseline.
• Use fine-point tweezers or a special tick-removing tool. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. If you don’t have tweezers, protect your fingers with a tissue.
• Pull the tick straight out with steady, even pressure. Click here to view a tick’s mouth and why it is so important to pull out the tick correctly.
• Disinfect the bite area and wash your hands.
• Save the tick for testing (alive if possible) in a small bottle or plastic bag with a green leaf or damp piece of tissue.
• Label it with your name, date, site of bite and how long tick was attached.
Tick Testing
If you’ve been bitten, you can send the tick to test and determine if the tick is carrying the pathogens that can lead to tick-borne illness to the following organizations:
• Igenex: https://igenex.com/product/tick-test/
• Tick Report: https://www.tickreport.com/
Whether or not you find a tick, stay alert for symptoms of tick-borne illness. A bull’s-eye rash indicates Lyme disease, though not everybody with Lyme gets one. You might have a different rash or none at all. You may develop flu-like symptoms—fever, headache, nausea—or joint pain or dizziness. Consult a physician as needed..
(source: lymedisease.org)
