Tick Days are here. In Australia, Springtime marks the beginning of our tick season. Each female tick can produce up to 3,000 eggs and lay them in humid dark regions. They are growing, going from larval, nymph, to adult, and can be the size of just a tiny poppy seed, so you need to be tick aware! Preparing to prevent and remove ticks safely is key to avoiding Tick-Borne Diseases.
Prevention Tips for You and Your Family:
- Avoid long grass, piles of leaves, low-hanging branches, and sitting on old logs; Remember to always walk on the track as ticks sit on blades of grass waiting to attach to their next blood meal.
- Use tick repellent or a quality field-tested natural product.
- Ticks often attach at the feet first and move upwards, attaching in warm moist areas on the body. Your first line of defence is your shoes.
- Spraying shoes with Permethrin will kill or weaken ticks.
- Wear light-coloured clothing, making it easier to see the little blood suckers, long sleeve shirts, and long pants tucked into your socks when possible. Wear a wide-brimmed hat. Best to braid or tie hair back as ticks love to attach to your head and often hitch a ride in hair.
- After being outdoors, check yourself, your children, and your pets thoroughly. Check all areas of the body.
- After being outdoors, place your clothing. in the dryer for 30 minutes at high heat.
- Remember to be TICK AWARE.
How to safely remove a tick:
- Using TickEase fine-tipped tweezers, grip the tick as close to the surface as possible. Avoid gripping the tweezers around the tick's body, and don't remove them with your fingers.
- Pull upward with steady, even pressure.
- Never twist or jerk the tick out.
- Don't put oils or other substances on the tick to make them back out.
- After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area, your hands, and tweezers.