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Down the Garden Path: Feeling ‘tick’-ed off? Here’s how to prevent bites · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Down the garden path feeling ticked off. Here's how to
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  Speaker 1: prevent bites. Written by Jamie Wiebach, University of Illinois Extension.
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  Speaker 1: This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by Everlett. May is Lime disease awareness months,
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  Speaker 1: so now is a great time to learn more about
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  Speaker 1: its host and how to protect your family from tick bites.
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  Speaker 1: What are ticks? Ticks have eight legs and belong to
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  Speaker 1: the irachnid family, related to spiders. Because their primary source
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  Speaker 1: of food is blood from animals, they have needle like mouthparts.
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  Speaker 1: In Illinois, there are six species of ticks that can
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  Speaker 1: cause disease in humans, black leg deer tick, American dog tick,
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  Speaker 1: brown dog tick, lone star tick, Gulf Coast tic, and
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  Speaker 1: soft ticks. They all go through larval, nymph, and adult
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  Speaker 1: life stages and can vary in size from microscopic to
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  Speaker 1: pea sized depending on species in life stage. They can
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  Speaker 1: live in many different habitats such as woodlands and meadows,
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  Speaker 1: but generally prefer taller vegetation like grasses. They are also
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  Speaker 1: found in both urban and suburban areas and can be
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  Speaker 1: found on trails, beaches, and even your own backyard. What
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  Speaker 1: should you watch for? Ticks can be carriers of many diseases,
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  Speaker 1: such as lime anaplasma, babesia, and erlikia. These diseases generally
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  Speaker 1: cause infected people to experience flu like symptoms such as fever,
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  Speaker 1: joint pain, and or a bull's eye rash. Additionally, the
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  Speaker 1: lone star tick is known to occasionally cause alphagal syndrome,
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  Speaker 1: which causes a meat allergy in those afflicted. Care should
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  Speaker 1: be taken after spending time outdoors to check for ticks. Additionally,
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  Speaker 1: pets who spend time outdoors should be given regular flea
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  Speaker 1: and tick treatments. Ask your veteranian for more information. What
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  Speaker 1: can you do? Prevention is the best way to protect
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  Speaker 1: yourself from ticks. If you spend time outdoors, make sure
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  Speaker 1: to walk in the center of trails where light colored
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  Speaker 1: clothing and huck pant legs into your socks to minimize
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  Speaker 1: exposed skin, and treat outdoor gear and clothing with zero
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  Speaker 1: point five percent permathrin. You can also apply insect repellent
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  Speaker 1: containing at least twenty percent deep to all exposed skin. Additionally,
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  Speaker 1: check yourself for ticks using a mirror after doing yard
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  Speaker 1: work or hiking in shower within the two hours. To
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  Speaker 1: help find any that may have hitchhiked, Pay close attention
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  Speaker 1: to areas like the scalp, under arms, and groin. If
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  Speaker 1: you do have one attached, remove with fine tipped tweezers
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  Speaker 1: by grabbing the head and gently pulling upwards until the
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  Speaker 1: tick releases. Avoid the old home remedies of applying a
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  Speaker 1: match head, petroleum jelly, or nail polish remover, as these
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  Speaker 1: can cause the tick to expel stomach contents, increasing the
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  Speaker 1: chances of disease transmission. Clean the exposed area with alcohol,
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  Speaker 1: and wash your hands with soap and water afterwards. Save
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  Speaker 1: the tick in a plastic zip top bag with a
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  Speaker 1: moist cotton ball for potential identification or tees. While saving
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  Speaker 1: the tick can help doctors if you later have an issue,
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  Speaker 1: they are also useful for helping researchers. Ticks can be
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  Speaker 1: submitted to the University of Illinois for free testing. Submission
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  Speaker 1: of tics helps the university study the distribution of tics
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  Speaker 1: and potential disease spread in Illinois. Tick submissions will receive
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  Speaker 1: an emailed response identifying the species of tick and providing
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  Speaker 1: you with more information about that species. For more information
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  Speaker 1: on treecare, check out the University of Illinois Extensions fact
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  Speaker 1: sheet on Asian longhorn ticks, this video on tics, and
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  Speaker 1: the Illinois Lime Association site on tick basics. Also check
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  Speaker 1: out the University of Illinois Extension Horticulture YouTube channel for
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  Speaker 1: videos on treecare and other horticulture topics. Have a question
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  Speaker 1: for the Master Gardeners. Residents can contact the Kendall County
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  Speaker 1: Master Gardner Volunteers on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from nine
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  Speaker 1: am to twelve thirty pm by calling six three zero
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  Speaker 1: five to five three five eight two three, stopping in
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  Speaker 1: at seven thousand, seven hundred and seventy five billion Illinois
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  Speaker 1: Route forty seven, Yorkville, or emailing u I E MG
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  Speaker 1: DASH Kendall at Illinois dot ed. For helpful hints on
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  Speaker 1: what to include in your email, please visit go dot
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  Speaker 1: Illinois dot edu slash helpdesk MGDK. Jamie Vibock is the
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  Speaker 1: University of Illinois Extension Horticulture educator serving DuPage, Caine, and
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  Speaker 1: Kendall Counties. Vbok's primary areas of expertise are native plants, landscaping, pollinators,
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  Speaker 1: and rain gardens.