Along with some (finally!) warmer weather and lots of outdoor activity, it’s tick season here in all its glory. Since pulling one off the Ozzypup the other day (his first ever tick, isn’t that sweet? No. No it is not) I knew it was time to get out the Frontline and refresh my tick prevention skills.
Sure trails are pretty, but beware of ticks lurking. Wear a hat to help keep them out of your hair.
Before you go out, read these tick prevention tips from the Center for Disease Control:
- Know where to expect ticks. They live in moist, humid environments, in or near wooded or grassy areas. You may come into contact with ticks during outdoor activities around your home or when walking through leaves or near shrubs.
- Stay to the center of trails in order to avoid contact with ticks.
- Check clothing for ticks. Ticks may be carried into the house on clothing. Placing clothes into a dryer on high heat for at least an hour effectively kills ticks.
- Showering within two hours of coming indoors has been shown to reduce your risk of getting Lyme disease. Showering may help wash off unattached ticks and it is a good opportunity to do a tick check.
- Check your body for ticks after being outdoors. Conduct a full body check upon return from potentially tick-infested areas, which even includes your back yard:
- Under the arms
- In and around the ears
- Inside belly button
- Back of the knees
- In and around the hair
- Between the legs
- Around the waist
Blech, I’m itchy just typing this.
If you find an attached tick:
- Remove it immediately by grasping with tweezers, as close to the skin as possible, and pulling it straight out.
- Watch for signs of illness such as rash or fever in the days and weeks following the bite, and see a health care provider if these develop. Your risk of acquiring a tick-borne illness depends on many factors, including where you live, what type of tick bit you, and how long the tick was attached.
Reduce Ticks In Your Yard:
- Modify your landscape. Regularly remove leaf litter and clear tall grasses and brush around homes, and place wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas to keep ticks away from recreational areas.
- Keep play areas and playground equipment away from shrubs, bushes, and other vegetation.
- Discourage deer by removing plants that attract them. Constructing physical barriers may help discourage deer from entering your yard and bringing ticks with them.
Prevent Ticks On Pets
- Use tick control products to prevent family pets from bringing ticks into the home. Tick collars, sprays, shampoos, or “top spot” medications should be used regularly to protect your animals and your family from ticks.
Are ticks bad where you live? Have you had to remove one/some?
I run through the woods all the time and never gave it a thought about ticks. I’m usually so concerned about my dog getting them and don’t worry about myself. I put k9 Advantix on Baylee but I recently gave her a really bad haircut , on accident of course, and I am worried about putting it on her nearly half skin now!
I did NOT enjoy this post today!! Bleh.
Thankfully, we don’t find ticks often in Colorado, but had a lot of them when I lived in Alabama. On a tick note….a woman we went to Boston with in 2016 has Lyme Disease. Didn’t know it at the time but she was having some severe back pain that was paralyzing her and from there it got worse. Man, that’s some nasty, nasty stuff!
these are good reminders. now that i have a toddler and a house with a lawn – ticks scare me!!
What a great post! But now my skin is crawling. I did a 24 hour relay this past weekend. After I finally went home and got a shower and 11 hours of sleep, I saw a text from my friend who ran the relay with me – she had a tick! I did a thorough check – no ticks, but it did remind me of the need to be aware. Thanks!
I had erythema migrans (the lyme rash) a few years ago and I don’t even remember being bit by a tick! Fortunately, I was lucky to have the rash so I could be treated quickly. Can’t we just go outside and have fun?
They are everywhere! I live in Hayward, Wi and the dogs have been bringing them in daily, we treat with Nexgard and I just picked up a bottle of Wondercide all natural tick & flea repellent, you can use it on everything and everyone, 100% natural! When I trail run I spray my legs with deep woods off and give my head a little spritz. Lyme disease, no bueno!
Ugh. Ticks are so ICK! I have heard it’s supposed to be a bad year for ticks, but (knock wood) I haven’t seen any….yet…
We have lots of ticks in our area and we spray for them in our yard. I know I am not cognizant enough about checking my skin for them. Thanks for the reminder
great post! I was just thinking about ticks this time of year. Last year I had one attach when i was camping. ICK!
My aunt lives in Green Lake, Wisconsin and unfortunately got bit and developed Lyme disease a few years ago. No fun. We’ve been lucky as we have camped a ton and are outdoors all the time.
Thankfully it’s really dry in Colorado, and I don’t go on trails either. If we have trails, they’re out in the open, and I do prefer shade on sunny days.
I hate that we are going to have a horrible tick year in KS – no hard, long freeze to kill them off and they are already out and biting… I love running the trails, but I am always so nervous about getting and missing ticks on my body.
Ticks can DEFINITELY get bad here. UGH. I didn’t know about that whole dryer trick. That’s pretty cool. I haven’t had any on me but my dog got a couple last summer. I blame the neighbors who don’t keep their lawn well tended. :/
Ticks are definitely bad in upstate NY, although our yard is not so bad. Lola never had any until a few years ago, and now she does seem to pick up one every now & again. Luckily when Mr. Judy is home, tick removal is one of his few doggie duties. Chester used to get them, too. I haven’t found one on Bandit yet.
I’ve never found one on me, which doesn’t mean I’ve never had one, of course. But in my belly button? REALLY?
We do like to hike so it’s always worrisome. And I don’t hike in long pants, even though I know I should.
Ok, I’m sending this post to all my friends & family… seriously important especially because this summer is supposed to be the worst! Thanks for sharing, Marcia!!
Ticks are gross. I’ve never had one but my hubby has.
Our cats used to get them all the time. But now we have an opossum that hangs out and we haven’t seen a one on them. (I guess they eat ticks.)
This is great – I always check when I’m done trail running
I have not heard that ticks are a problem in Hong Kong, but now I will be finding out for sure. Ticks are definitely a scary thing and we had to deal with them when we lived in NH.
These are great tips!
Most runners probably don’t think about these things but with Lyme disease its such great advice and tips to follow if they’ve been on the trails!
My husband is pretty vigilant about checking for ticks. He just mowed the grass tonight for tick prevention.
I’ve never seen one and hopefully I never see one!!
I am terrified of getting tick diseases. They are everywhere where I live…I take all the precautions but still leaves me feeling icky when I’ve been running trails or spending time in wooded areas.
I think my comment got eaten, but it went something like this: I’m grateful for a lot of things, and after reading this I’m especially thankful that we don’t have many ticks in the desert. We do occasionally deal with them on our dogs, but not very often thank goodness.
Great tips Marcia! They just ran a big story on the tick problem in our area on the news last night. We spend a lot of time hiking in the summer so I’m going to have to be hyper-vigilant this year.