Tips To Help Avoid Exposure To Ticks
- Avoid sitting directly on the ground, even in the cold of winter
- Keep long hair tied back or under a hat that has been treated
- Do a full-body tick-check when ever possible and certainly at the end of the day
- Check children and pets for ticks daily
- Review tick repellent options by clicking here
- When taking the above precautions, consider this:
- If you tuck long pants into socks and shirts into pants, be aware that ticks in contact with your clothes will climb upward in search of exposed skin. This means they may climb to hidden areas around the head and neck if not spotted first.
- Clothes can be sprayed before going outdoors (allow to dry before using) with Permanone clothing treatment, which will kill ticks crawling across the treated surface. The treatment is effective for about two weeks (check label) when applied properly.
- Upon returning home, clothes can be placed in a hot dryer to kill ticks, but even hot dryers do not always kill all of the ticks.
- A shower and shampoo may help to remove crawling ticks, but will not usually remove attached ticks. Inspect yourself and your children carefully after bathing. Keep in mind that nymphal ticks are the size of poppy seeds; adult ticks are about the size of apple seeds.
Any contact with vegetation, even playing in your yard, can result in exposure to ticks. Daily self-inspections are necessary whenever you are involved in outdoor activities. Remember ticks can be active when there is an 70% snow covering on the ground. Frequent tick checks during the day should be followed by a detailed tick check each night before going to bed.
Lucy Barnes
AfterTheBite@gmail.com