As the kids get ready for summer and the days keep getting hotter, the potential for tick bites will only increase.
We set out to Verify the correct ways to prevent tick bites and how to remove them if they bite.
To Verify the proper way to deal with ticks we spoke to Michael Hokanson with the Department of Public Health and Jones County Agricultural Extension Agent Michael Abney.
“They can sometimes carry bacteria that can cause diseases in people,” Hokanson says.
Hokanson works for the North Central Health District and says the ticks can pass along Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease, among many others.
In fact, the Central District accounted for 20 percent of the state's confirmed Spotted Fever cases in the 2016-2017 season.
That's why experts say if you're bitten, it's best to act quickly.
“The best tool for the job is a sharply pointed pair of tweezers. When you use the tweezers, you want to get down to the head of the tick, as close to the skin as possible, and move up in a single motion,” Hokanson says.
Jones County Agriculture Extension Agent Michael Abney agrees.
“Just get as close to the point of where they're connected to as possible and just do a steady pull to have them release,” Abney said in his office.
And what about those home remedies we've all heard of before like Vaseline, gasoline, or even burning them off? Well the experts say it may do more harm than good.
“You're going to get them angry and they're going to secrete any saliva that they had in their system into the point where they've already bitten into you and that saliva is going to hold the things like parasites and potential diseases. In a lot of ways you may get them to release, but you're going to do more harm than if you just quickly grabbed them,” Abney says.
To prevent ticks the experts say use bug sprays with DEET, avoid tall grass and other dense vegetation, and if you’re going to hike or be outdoors to put your pant legs into your socks.
Hokanson added to check your dogs when you return from woods or other outdoor areas where ticks might be present. He says you don’t want them coming into your home and getting into the carpet or onto people. It also helps prevent your dog from getting sick.
Hokanson and Abney say the tweezer-pull method is the best method for dogs as well.
VERIFY SOURCES
Michael Hokanson - North Central Health District
Michael Abney - Jones County Agriculture Extension Agent