by: Heather Knapp

The weather is warming up and we are finally getting back outside in the sunshine and fresh air! With the warm weather comes the return of green grass, budding trees, blooming flowers, and…insects. Of these insects, one of our least favorites is of course, ticks. These tiny creepy crawlers are hard to see and can be dangerous to our health. This article will discuss the dangers that can come from tick bites and what you can do to prevent them.

There are many types of ticks and each one can carry different types of disease. According to the Keely (2018) in an article for Live Well Nebraska, the American dog tick is most widely found across all of Nebraska. The Lone Star tick may also be found in Southern and Central Nebraska. With the American dog tick being most prevalent here in Northeast Nebraska, the diseases that we must watch out for include Tularemia and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF). The Department of Health and Human Services has between 6 and 31 cases of RMSF reported every year, and 42 total cases of Tularemia were reported in Nebraska from 2015-2017 (Keely, 2018). These creatures live in wooded areas, or where there is tall grass, especially shaded, damp locations.

  According to the CDC, (2018) RMSF is a bacterial infection spread through the bite of an infected tick. Symptoms can be fever, headache, and rash, and someone suffering from these symptoms should seek treatment right away as it can be deadly if not treated early. Tularemia is another bacterial disease that can infect humans through tick bites. It can also spread through contact with infected animals, ingestion of contaminated water, or ingestion or contaminated dust or aerosols, and must be treated early.

The CDC (2018) advises us to always wear gloves when handling sick or dead animals, and to avoid mowing over dead animals to prevent spreading Tularemia. Since tick bites can cause these diseases to spread, we must also protect ourselves from these little bugs. How do we keep ourselves safe from tick bites?

·         Wear long pants, and tuck them into your socks if possible

·         Wear long sleeve shirts

·         Use insect repellant containing at least 20% or more DEET, picardin, or IR3535. Use this online tool from the Environmental Protection Agency to find the best repellant for you and your family: https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/find-repellent-right-you

·         Check yourself, pets, clothing, shoes, hats, backpacks, and any other gear for ticks before going inside

·         Shower shortly after coming inside

·         Use products containing 0.5% permethrin on clothing, gear, and tents. This treatment remains effective through several washings.

·         Tumble dry clothes on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing. If clothes require washing first, hot water is recommended.

  The CDC also provides helpful tips on preventing ticks in your yard and on your pets. These tips can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/index.html. Follow these pointers to keep you and your family safe from the dangerous diseases that ticks carry, especially now during the warm summer months!