Summer Means Tick Checks!

June 20, 2019
summer ticks

Summer Means Tick Checks!

An incoming of hot weather, means more bugs are living outside. These include pesky hornets, mosquitos, and ticks! You may have already gotten ant or ladybug infestations in your home, or seen some spiders. Those spiders are usually harmless, but make certain to do your research in removing them. Click to continue reading more about ticks!

What are Ticks?

Ticks are arachnids that like to live in wooded areas and feed on blood. This is why ticks attach themselves to animals and humans. Ticks can cause a wide range of diseases from the pathogens they transmit. These diseases include Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, typhus, Bourbon virus, tularemia, and many more.

It is important if you are going into a heavily wooded area to wear long sleeves and pants. Protecting your skin is important to make certain that no tick can touch your skin. If you have pets that like to roam outside, you should perform daily tick checks. To remove a tick from your skin you should clean the area, take tweezers and grab as close to the tick’s head as possible, pull up firmly, and clean the bite wound thoroughly with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.

What is the Difference Between Dog Ticks and Deer Ticks?

A dog tick is a tick that does not carry Lyme Disease and is much smaller than Deer Ticks which do carry the disease. Female deer ticks are brown or reddish-orange with a dark color behind their head. The male deer tick is dark brown and slightly smaller than the females.

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria from the bite of an infected tick. A rash may appear from 3 to 30 days in the form of a circle often called a bullseye. Other symptoms include headaches, chills, body aches, headache, neck stiffness, swollen lymph nodes, and fatigue. If this disease goes untreated, later symptoms will include joint pain, erythema migraines, and neurological problems. If you have seen the tick on your body and then you experience symptoms you should see your doctor right away! Treatment includes antibiotics, but unfortunately, once you have this disease, you have it for life.

Final Thoughts

Have you ever gotten Lyme Disease? Do you usually perform tick checks on yourself, your children, and your pets? Do you live in a heavily wooded area that has many ticks? Comment below!

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