Protecting Yourself From Ticks…

Being outdoors—whether in your own yards or walking in the woods—has offered solace in the time of social distancing. While ticks are now entering into their most active periods, there are some easy steps to protect from these pests and the diseases they can carry. Ticks spend most of their time hidden in the leaf layer and they don’t fly or jump. When they need a blood meal they wait on grass or shrubs, and climb on a passing host. Not every tick carries disease. A tick with a pathogen usually takes more than 4 hours to transmit the pathogen, so tick checks every 4 hours when outside will prevent most disease. To protect yourself, your family, and pets you should also:

· Protect the areas in your yard where you play and relax by keeping grass and underbrush cut and clean of leaf litter and have a mulch barrier between lawns and wooded areas, near patios, and near play equipment.

· Avoid brushing against tall grass and dense vegetation, wear light-colored clothes (which makes ticks easier to see), and tuck pant legs into socks when in “tick preferred” areas.

· Wear repellent (25%-30% DEET, 20% Picaridin, oil of Eucalyptus, or IR-3535 (Merck 3535), treat clothes, boots, and shoes with Permethrin (Permethrin is not for skin, just clothes), and ask the veterinarian about tick preventives for your pets. You can also buy clothes pre-treated with Permethrin.

· Put clothes in a hot dryer for at least 20 minutes to kill ticks on clothing (a hot water wash won’t kill ticks).

· If you find a tick, grasp the ticks as close to the skin as possible with tweezers and pull gently upward. Clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water. If you develop a rash or fever or other unusual symptoms, see your doctor.

Spraying pesticides to control ticks is ineffective because ticks reside primarily within leaf litter where the sprays cannot reach them, or they are brought in by animal hosts. The pesticides, however, are nonselective and will kill pollinators and other beneficial insects they come in contact with. Research shows that insect populations are in sharp decline in the last several decades as a result of habitat loss and growing use of pesticides. Insects provide essential ecosystem services such as pollinating many food crops and are a critical component of the food web. Without insects life as we know it would cease to exist.

To learn more about ticks check out this article by Extension Master Gardeners: Protecting Yourself from Ticks…Without Harming Pollinators. Also, check out the resources at https://mgnv.org/mosquito-and-tick-control/ and https://armn.org/mosquitos-and-ticks/ For more information and help with identifying and ticks: Contact the Virginia Cooperative Extension Help Desk by email mgarlalex@gmail.com.