What Every Durham Resident Should Know About Tick Prevention

When it comes to Durham activities, people are encouraged to “breathe deep, lace-up, and discover” its natural beauty. Durham is an outdoor lover’s paradise offering biking, walking, running, and hiking trails. However, outdoor enthusiasts seeking relaxation in Durham’s many parks may bring an unwelcome hitchhiker to their property that will eventually stress them out.

Little-Known Information About Tick Activity In Durham

A simple walk in the woods can result in a hitchhiker latching onto you and feasting on your blood. April - September is the worst time for ticks. Since ticks cannot jump or fly, they will crawl onto blades of grass or brush and wait for a host to brush up against them. When someone passes by, they use their front legs to grab and take a ride.

Ticks can also use a branch to drop onto you from above. If you think the winter months will give you relief from ticks, think again! During the winter months (below freezing), they will often burrow underground, hide under leaf litter, or live off a warm host. When temperatures climb above freezing, they can become active again. In financial terms, ticks can cause property owners great expense all through the year.

What Everyone In Durham Ought To Know About Treating Tick Bites

Finding a tick on your body can be a horrifying experience. Most bites go unnoticed until physically felt on the body or a red welt/itchy lesion appears. When ticks bite, they sink their unique mouthparts into you, bite down, and bury their head into your skin. After engorging themselves (sometimes for days), they will drop off. When a tick attaches itself to the skin, it is vital to remove it immediately.

Four instructions to follow when removing a tick include:

• Use fine-tipped tweezers, grasp the tick’s head as close to the skin as possible.
• Apply even pressure to pull tweezers upward. Don’t twist/jerk because the mouthparts could break off and stay in the skin. If this happens, attempt to retrieve with tweezers.
• If the mouth doesn’t come out easily, leave it in the skin and let it heal.
• Clean your hands with alcohol, followed by soap and water.

Even after tick removal, side effects may appear after several weeks requiring medical attention. Side effects of tick-borne diseases to be aware of include:

• Rash
• Chills
• Aches and pains
• Fever

If you experience these symptoms following a suspected tick bite, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Here’s A Quick Way To Control Ticks On Your Person/Property

Stopping ticks from getting on you can be very difficult, especially if you are an outdoors lover. Residents can employ prevention techniques that can help prevent ticks from accessing their person and property.

Steps that can help prevent ticks on the body include:

• Using 0.5% permethrin on camping gear, clothing, and boots
• Using EPA registered insect repellants
• Avoiding brushy, wooded areas with leaf litter and high grass
• Staying in the center of trails
• Covering exposed skin while tracking through tick-infested areas
• Showering and checking your body after trekking outdoors

Steps that can help prevent ticks on your property include:

• Using a fence to keep unwanted wildlife from carrying ticks into your yard
• Removing yard debris (including leaf litter) that may allow ticks to hide
• Keeping stacked wood neat and dry
• Keeping lawns mowed
• Keeping brush and tall grasses at the edge of lawns
• Building decks, patios, and playground equipment away from trees and yard edges
• Using three foot wide barriers (gravel/wood chips) between lawns and wooded areas

These steps should help minimize your exposure to ticks, but will not do much to reduce tick populations.

The Secret Of Tick Removal In The Durham Area

Tick prevention can be tricky. The Eco Man Pest Solutions, LLC. has over 15 years of experience answering tick questions and setting up preventative pest control measures to ease the chances of tick problems. Call The Eco Man Pest Solutions, LLC for answers to your tick questions and to learn more about pest control in Durham.