Ticks! They’re here year around, but now their “high season” is coming. The tiny deer tick sometimes transmits Lyme and other diseases. How can we avoid tick bites while out birding? Here’s some information we hope will be helpful, gathered last year from reputable sources (identified briefly in parentheses, and in full at the end of this note):
Tick facts
Deer ticks cling to tall grass, brush, and shrubs, usually no more than 18-24 inches off the ground. Deer ticks cannot jump or fly, and do not drop onto passing people or animals. They get on humans and animals only by direct contact. Once a tick gets on the skin, it generally climbs upward until it reaches a protected area. (NY)
Most tick bites won't give you a disease, but some can. It's not clear how long an infected tick must be attached before it transmits a disease (a crawling tick doesn't transmit anything). For Lyme disease, it probably takes one to three days. (Harvard)
How to protect yourself
If you’ve been exposed to ticks and you develop flu-like symptoms or a rash, see your clinician—even if the symptoms go away on their own. The symptoms may appear 3 to 30 days after the bite. A tick-borne infection usually causes no lasting harm if it’s recognized and treated early. (Harvard, NY)
Sources:
NY - New York State Department of Health
Harvard - Harvard Women’s Health Watch
CDC - Centers for Disease Control
NIH - National Institutes of Health
---compiled and edited by Alexia Smith
Tick facts
Deer ticks cling to tall grass, brush, and shrubs, usually no more than 18-24 inches off the ground. Deer ticks cannot jump or fly, and do not drop onto passing people or animals. They get on humans and animals only by direct contact. Once a tick gets on the skin, it generally climbs upward until it reaches a protected area. (NY)
Most tick bites won't give you a disease, but some can. It's not clear how long an infected tick must be attached before it transmits a disease (a crawling tick doesn't transmit anything). For Lyme disease, it probably takes one to three days. (Harvard)
How to protect yourself
- Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.
- Wear enclosed shoes, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots, and shirt into pants.
- Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors, and check again once indoors. (NY)
- Consider using repellants: A product containing 20% or more DEET on exposed skin, and/or one containing permethrin to treat clothing. (CDC)
- Walk in the center of trails to avoid contacting vegetation. (NIH)
- Avoid sitting directly on the ground, logs, stone walls, etc. (NY)
- Bathe or shower as soon as possible to wash off and more easily find ticks.
- Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held mirror..
- Examine clothes, gear, and pets. (CDC)
- Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible.
- Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with clean tweezers. If you can’t remove the mouth easily, leave it alone (the mouthparts by themselves don’t transmit the disease - NY).
- After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water. (CDC)
If you’ve been exposed to ticks and you develop flu-like symptoms or a rash, see your clinician—even if the symptoms go away on their own. The symptoms may appear 3 to 30 days after the bite. A tick-borne infection usually causes no lasting harm if it’s recognized and treated early. (Harvard, NY)
Sources:
NY - New York State Department of Health
Harvard - Harvard Women’s Health Watch
CDC - Centers for Disease Control
NIH - National Institutes of Health
---compiled and edited by Alexia Smith
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