COLLEGE STATION – Summer is here and the great outdoors beckons. However, this is the time of the year when people need to be especially careful about ticks, said Dr. Michael Merchant, Extension urban entomologist in Dallas.
Ticks are a major problem in summer. If bitten by a tick, don’t panic, he said, but be aware that it’s possible for them to carry diseases.
“If you find a tick feeding on you, be sure to make a note of that somewhere,” Merchant said. “Diseases carried by ticks sometimes show up as a rash, or with flu-like symptoms.
“If you get any unusual symptoms after the bite, be sure to let your doctor know. It may be completely unrelated, but at least it will help him or her know what to look for.”
Ticks can carry the pathogens that cause Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, among others, he said.
“The difficult thing about tick-borne diseases is they are very difficult to diagnose initially,” Merchant said. “A dog or animal or person’s health can be affected severely before they realize what it is and can get the proper treatment.”
Ticks are not that difficult to recognize, according to Merchant. They are flattened on the bottom and top, brown in color and well-designed to feel at home slipping into the fur coat of a dog or cat.
“Areas with cattle and other livestock are more likely to have ticks,” Merchant said. “But any kind of natural, wild area with lots of borders between woodland and the grassy areas is especially good tick country.”
In order to keep ticks off, wear repellant, he said.
“Currently, the most effective tick repellant is permethrin,” Merchant said. “It’s sold under several trade names, including one that’s called Permanone Tick Repellant. Treated clothing repels ticks for days to weeks.”
Ticks normally hide on foliage, grass, leaves and shrubs, on the edge or end of a plant. Animals or humans walking by brush on the leaf and the tick grabs hold and that’s how ticks get on and in people’s clothing.
“In heavy tick areas, you may want to tuck your pants legs into your socks or seal your cuffs with duct tape to make it harder for ticks to climb inside your pant legs,” Merchant said. “Make sure you wear long pants and tuck in your shirts to further discourage ticks.”
People should check themselves daily for ticks. When working in tick-infested areas, check nightly for ticks.
To remove a tick, entomologists recommend grabbing the tick on the head as close to the skin as possible and pulling straight out with a gentle, steady pull. Old fashioned remedies, such as hot match heads and Vaseline, don’t work well and may slightly increase your chance of getting infected, Merchant said.
“Ticks are more likely to carry disease because of their feeding habits,” Merchant said. “Many ticks feed on three different hosts in their lifetime.
“Ticks are primarily outdoor critters, and the ones that would get indoors are not going to bite people, they’re just there because of the animal being on the outside.”
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