All across Northern New England, you can hear the sound of people cheering over the fact that the cold winter weather is finally gone for the year. When you look at the 10 day forecast and see all high temperatures in the 50s or 60s, it's absolutely a reason to celebrate. But it's also reason to start worrying about something else - ticks. Pretty gross, eh? According to an expert interviewed by New Center Maine, tick season officially began a week or two ago. And while it's still too early to tell if this year will be a bad one for them, 2018 certainly was. From the CDC, here are a few ways to be safe this tick season:

  • Know where you're likely to see ticks, and be prepared
  • Treat your outerwear with Permethrin
  • When you get home after being outdoors, especially in the woods, do a full body check. Check children and pets as well
  • If you find a tick on you, remove it as soon as possible. Grasp it with tweezers, or a tick removal tool, and pull it straight out

Being smart about tickets can help you avoid the dangerous or even deadly diseases they carry, including lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, rocky mountain spotted fever, and more.

 

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