Ticks can be
quite a nuisance if they manage to come in contact with your skin whether it is
feeding off of your blood or simply biting which can lead to sickness, illness
or serious disease. Ticks are known to cause Lyme disease which is transmitted
to humans through their bite, if they are infected.
Some
precautions you can take to protect yourself from tick bites are to wear protective clothing such as hats, long
sleeve shirts and full length pants when you go outside. Spraying an insect repellent on your skin
will also help prevent them from wanting to stick around! Most ticks do not
jump or fly but if they happen to come in contact with you they can stay
attached and feed off of your blood for days at a time and you may not
necessarily know that you have a tick attached until it actually falls off or
you feel a burning sensation or other skin irritation.
If you must
be outside please keep the following in mind to help prevent yourself from tick
bites:
1. Avoid wooded and brushy areas with
high grass
2. Always walk in the center of
trails
3. Take extra precaution in warmer
months - ticks are most active April - September
Be sure and
conduct a full body check if you have been outdoors for an extended period of
time. Be sure to:
1. Bathe as soon as possible after
coming indoors
2. Do a thorough body check including
under arms, behind ears, through hair,
inside
the belly button, behind the knees, etc.
3. Once removing clothes put them in
a heated dryer for about an hour in order
to kill
any ticks that may still be on your clothing
4. Parents - be sure to check these
areas on your children, pets and gear as well
It is
important to take extra precautions and protect yourself and your home by
including regular pest control services in your monthly budget. Keep in mind to
consider other pest treatments such as termite treatment, white ants treat and
ant control services. These, in combination with regularly scheduled termite
inspections will be most effective at keeping pests at bay and will help
prevent possible future damage to your home.