As people get ready to enjoy the summer hikes, camping, gardening and mountain biking, so do the insects and many pests. Among them are creepy-crawly ticks, the blood-sucking parasites and arthropods. Ticks are not just spring or summer time annoyance, these bloodsuckers once latched on can lead to chronic diseases such as Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, malaria like disease babesiosis, and the heartland virus infection.
Tick bites are essentially parasites that feed on humans and their four-legged animals. They go on to infect the bloodstream. Tick insects are found in moist humid climate, areas with bushes and trees and grass, woods and coastal regions. A tick bite transmits Borrelia, a type of bacteria, into your bloodstream. This virus results in a condition called Lyme disease, the most commonly transmitted disease caused by the little bug. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics, around 300,000 people are affected by tick bites.
It’s best to avoid any communication with these small but nasty parasites, let alone getting one hooked on for too long. To steer clear from and treat tick bites, there are several measures you can invest in. Here are 7 to give a “shot” at.
1. Repel the bugs
Simple but effective, repellents and insecticides are one of the easiest and efficient way to ward off the ticks. These contain ingredients like DEET and insecticide Permethrin that works just as well for ticks as they do for mosquitoes.
2. Wear the right stuff
Your best chance to stay safe is to cover your body with light-loose layers. Plan your outdoor activity coupled with protective clothing such as long-sleeved shirts, trousers and covered footwear like boots or shoes. Tucking your pants inside your shoes would act like a physical barrier and give you an unattractive look enough for ticks to stay away.
3. Check your pets
Check your dogs for any unwarranted bugs as ticks can even latch onto your dogs on the way home. Giving them a good rub down or spraying with water can help eliminate bugs.
4. Unlatch them
If in case the tick sticks on to your body, grab a pair of tweezers and remove the tick immediately. And if any rash like symptom shows up, visit a doctor at the earliest to be on the safe side.
5. Stay in the sun & Walk the middle way
During your excursion into the wild, stay in the middle of the path/walk-way as ticks can’t fly or jump. They also can’t survive in environments with lower than 80% humidity.
6. Take precautions at home
Outdoors are not only the danger areas of tick attacks, your house and around the house activities like gardening or children playing can bring about some risky tick activities.
7. Perform tick checks
Shower and inspect for any bugs attached to your body, especially hidden areas like armpits, neck, back and knees. Immediately taking your clothes off and putting them in a hot dryer can further help to kill any lurking ticks on the clothing.
A single bite can have harmful consequences but taking the right steps and measures can lower your odds. There exists various medical treatment like local cleansing, oral antibiotics, doctor recommended aid such as Benadryl, and more.
