How to protect yourself now that tick season is here

Kateryn Rochon explains where ticks are hiding, how to prevent bites, and why awareness is key as the weather warms up.

Spring tick season has crawled back for another year.

While ticks can be active in any season, they begin looking for a host to feed on once temperatures rise.

University of Manitoba entomologist Kateryn Rochon said there are several breeds of ticks in the province, but only one that primarily causes health concerns for those on the other end of their bite.

“Blacklegged ticks are the ones that can transmit pathogens like Lyme disease or anaplasmosis or other things that affect us,” she said in an interview with CTV Morning Live Winnipeg.

You can spot a blacklegged tick by their colours, she said. As advertised, they have black legs, while the males are typically very dark brown or black and the females have dark, chocolatey brown heads and an orangish, red body.

Bitten by a tick? Here’s what to do

If you find a tick of any breed on your body enjoying a bloody bite, Rochon recommends using a pair of tweezers to pull it straight up without yanking it off.

Creepy and crawly as the tick may be, don’t throw it away.

Manitobans are asked to take a picture and send it to eTick – a mobile app that helps identify and monitor tick populations in Canada as part of a community science project.

“You upload that, and you put on the map exactly where you found it in Manitoba,” Rochon said.

“Anything in Manitoba comes to my lab, and my team identifies it within 24 hours. That way, if you get a blacklegged tick, you’ll get some information on what to do.”

A reddish mark after a tick bite is normal. However, one of the telltale signs that the Lyme disease pathogen has been transmitted is a target or bull’s-eye-type rash at the site of the bite.

However, Rochon notes only about 70 to 80 per cent of people infected get the marking.

With or without it, folks who have been bitten should monitor for other flu-like symptoms within 30 days of the bite.

“You can treat it with simple antibiotics and avoid all kinds of problems,” she said.

Tick bite prevention tips

Health Canada has issued tips on how to prevent getting bit by a tick altogether.

How you dress when outside, for example, can make all the difference.

The agency advises wearing light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants, tucking shirts into pants and pants into socks, wearing closed-toe shoes, using bug spray with DEET or Icaridin, walking on cleared paths or walkways, and wearing permethrin-treated clothing.

Afterwards, shower and bathe as soon as possible, followed by a full-body tick check on yourself, children, pets, and your gear.

From there, put the clothes you were wearing in the dryer on high heat for at least 10 minutes.

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé