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Prevention at the Beginning of Tick Season For You and Your Property

Prevention at the Beginning of Tick Season
Personal Protection

 

Tick bites are usually painless, the ticks are tiny, and consequently many people are unaware that they have been bitten. Ticks do not survive in hot, dry areas as it causes their bodies to dry. They can be active when temperatures are above 40F even in the winter.

GOOD SENSE TIPS

Wear light colored clothing, long sleeves and pants, tuck pants into socks. Long loose hair should be covered, braided or tied when venturing into areas where ticks are apt to be. Spray your clothing, etc. (also, see Repellent Sprays section).

When coming in from outside activities where you might have encountered ticks, throw clothing into the dryer set on high heat. This will ensure no ticks survive on your clothing. Remember to do a tick check, take a shower and wash your hair.

Keep pets that have outside exposure off furniture especially bedding.

Make certain that you have very fine pointed tweezers available.

Also, see the section on property protection and repellent sprays.

TICK CHECKS

 

Thorough tick checks should be done, daily or when coming in after outside activities when temperatures are warm and you have been in areas that you may have encountered ticks (ticks can be active even on warm winter days). Check dark, moist areas: hair, cracks behind ears, knees, elbows, underarms, crotch etc. (also see: Tick Removal section).

Check your pets for ticks when they come into the house (also, see Protecting Animals section).

Wear light colored clothing, long sleeves and pants, tuck pants into socks. Long loose hair should be covered, braided or tied when venturing into areas where ticks are apt to be. Spray your clothing, etc. (also, see Repellent Sprays section).

TICK REMOVAL

 

Ticks should be removed promptly. The longer it is attached the higher the chance of disease transmission. Remove it carefully to prevent disease transmission:

  1. Using fine pointed tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible without squeezing the tick’s body.
  2. Firmly pull it straight out (expect to feel some resistance). Save the tick for future testing by placing it in a plastic bag or in a small jar of alcohol. If a tick is to tested for spirochetes place it in a small jar or vial with a blade of grass to keep it alive. Be sure to note the date and site of the bite for future reference.
  3. NEVER: squeeze the tick, burn it, or cover it with Vaseline or any other substance.
  4. Remember to disinfect the site of the bite, wash your hands and disinfect your tweezers.
  5. Contact your doctor.

 

 

 

Property Management

Ticks are most common in overgrown places where the ground is covered with leaf litter, weeds, and high grass, etc. These are the areas where they are protected from harsh drying effects of sun and wind, and are also where mice and deer live. Ticks can be found in the ecotone that surrounds your lawn area from the woods. Sometimes they can be found on well mowed lawns or in your home, because they dropped off animals or pets that crossed over or entered these areas.

The following methods are suggested to minimize ticks on your property.

  1. Create tick free zones around your home by cutting back wooded areas and increasing the size of open lawn.
  2. Keep grass mowed to 3 inches or less. This lowers humidity at ground level, making it difficult for ticks to survive.
  3. Place play areas in sunshine.
  4. Remove leaf litter, moist plant litter, brush, weeds and other debris that attract ticks.
  5. Eliminate dense plant beds close to your home such as ivy and pachysandra.
  6. Create borders (pebbles, cedar chips) to separate your lawn from the wooded area surrounding it.
  7. Rock walls, woodpiles, and birdfeeders attract mice and chipmunks which hide, nest and eat spilled food from these sources. Do your best to keep these far from your home.
  8. Keep garbage in tightly closed cans and don’t leave pet food outside or purposely attract and feed wild animals.
  9. Reduce plants that attract deer and plant those that they do not eat.
  10. Scare tactics can be used to keep deer away.
  11. Soap such as Irish Spring can be used to keep deer from eating plants.
  12. Ten foot high deer fences can be used to keep them out of property.
  13. See Tick control section for information about arcaricides and insecticides.
  14. See Research section for the multiple other exciting methods under development.

 

Tick Control

 

There are many methodologies to control ticks. Most of these are covered under the topics of Property Management or under Research.

Host reduction and exclusion: We have built homes in wooded areas, farmlands have decreased; the result of this is an increase in deer and mouse populations and an increase of human contact with ticks.

The deer are responsible for increasing the tick population. The mouse, followed by the chipmunk are responsible for the spread of many tick-borne pathogens, as they are the reservoirs for the disease organisms (as an example for the Lyme disease spirochete). Therefore, reducing exposure to these animals and reducing ticks on them seem a reasonable approach and are incorporated into much of the research and recommendations in the other sections.

 

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