Tick season is upon us and this year is shaping up to be one of the worst in a decade.
According to Harvard Health, Emergency room visits for tick related symptoms are already the highest since 2017.
"There's been a lot more, because just tick abundances increases, a lot more awareness of tick activity, and so people are seeking medical treatment if they're finding ticks," explains Alex Carlson with the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District.
That begs the question: why are we seeing more?
"Part of the reason we're expecting a high number of ticks this spring in Minnesota is because there was a late emergence last year of the larval ticks, which typically come out in late summer," explained Carlson. "And so it's likely more of them survived the winter and will re-emerge as nymph ticks this spring."
Carlson said to use appropriate repellents and to do a thorough body check once inside. And don't forget to check your pets.
"Stay on the trail if you're going hiking," he says. "And if you do go into long woods or grassy or brushy areas, make sure you're doing a thorough tick check. Wear light colored clothing so you can see the ticks if any of them attached to your fabric, and then bug spray. Clothing and gear spray containing permethrin is really effective as well."
To avoid bites from ticks that can potentially carry Lyme disease there are a couple important steps you can take:
- Be able to identify tick habitat and check yourself after you've been in it.
- Deer ticks harbor in wooded or brushy areas, so ensure you stay on trails and avoid coming into contact with brush or vegetation that can potentially be harboring ticks.
- After being near tick habitat, check your whole body for ticks. Be sure to also check kids and pets.
- Remove ticks as soon as you find them. If they've already attached, use a tweezer or your fingers to grasp as close to the mouth as possible and pull up. Wash the area with soap and warm water.
- Protect yourself from tick bites.
- Use DEET or Picaridin-based insect repellent on skin.
- Pre-treat clothing and gear with Permethrin, which will actively repel ticks and mosquitoes.
- Wear light colored clothing to spot ticks more easily.
- Wear long pants and tuck them into your socks to make it more difficult for ticks to access skin.
- Tumble dry clothing after being in tick habitat for at least 60 minutes.
- Use a flea and tick preventative on your dog - talk to your veterinarian to get the recommended product for the breed.
- Reduce tick activity in your yard.
- Keep grass short and mow regularly.
- Remove leaves, wood piles, and brush.
- Create a barrier between mowed lawns and woods - rocks or wood chips work well.
- Many of the tips in our Resident's Guide for mosquitoes also work for ticks!
