Tick season has arrived. Here’s how you can protect yourself

With tick season underway, Ottawa Public Health is sharing tips on how to protect yourself. CTV’s Peter Szperling reports.

Ticks are already active in eastern Ontario this season and with them, the concern over Lyme disease.

According to Ottawa Public Health, the blacklegged tick, also known as a deer tick, is present in Ottawa, eastern Ontario and the Outaouais.

“It is a concern. Just for individuals to be aware of the case that there is, unfortunately, Lyme disease that is located in the Ottawa region,” said Ottawa Public Health Inspector Renay Roberts.

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According to Ottawa Public Health, there have already been 29 individuals reported with Lyme disease this year.

Roberts says if you find a tick on you, you should remove it as soon as possible.

“The longer a tick is attached to someone’s body, the greater the chance that if it has the Lyme disease bacteria, that it could transmit it to the individual,” he said.

“Either take some needle nose tweezers and really go and try to remove the head gently, very slowly. Don’t pull it all out at once, because you risk decapitating the head and creating a localized infection. You can use a tick key as well.”

According to the OPH website, blacklegged ticks can be found almost anywhere outdoors,

“They are most often found in habitats that maintain ground-level moisture and humidity such as in tall grasses, and bushy/shrubby, wooded and forested areas.”

Ottawa Public Health recommends practicing these simple steps to help minimize exposure to blacklegged ticks:

• Apply a Health Canada approved insect repellent containing DEET or icaridin to exposed skin and clothing.
• Wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, shoes, and socks to cover exposed skin.
• Tuck your pants into your socks.
• Wear light-coloured clothing to spot ticks more easily.
• If possible, stay on the trails when hiking in the woods and other natural areas. Enjoy the mowed and maintained areas of parks and playing fields but be mindful of the borders adjacent to natural areas that may be suitable tick habitat.
• Do a “full body” check on yourself, your children, and pets for ticks. Pay careful attention around your toes, knees, groin, armpits and scalp.