Today's Article

"They will be looking for their first blood meal of the season."

Dr. Bobby Pritt with the Mayo Clinic says ticks will be out now through fall, with peak times in June and July. 

The more 3humid and warm the climate, the more likely you'll come across one of these 4parasites, which can spread potentially dangerous diseases.

"Some of these 5pathogens can be 6transmitted quite quickly, so you want to avoid tick bites 7at all costs."

To prevent bites, spray tick 8repellent on 9exposed skin.

Pritt recommends those with 10DEET, keratin or lemon 11eucalyptus. 

You can also wear long sleeves and pants, 12tucking pants into socks so that ticks can't 13crawl up pant legs.

Treat clothing and gear with permethrin, which can kill ticks on contact, and do frequent tick checks on people and pets.

"If you find a tick, don't panic. If the tick is 14embedded, you just want to remove it as quickly as possible."

To safely do that, Pritt says to use fine-tip tweezers.

15Grasp the tick as close as possible to the skin at a 45° angle, pulling the creature out slowly in one motion and avoid squeezing it.

"And you don't want to use any of those 16folk remedies that may damage the tick, like touching it with a match or putting 17petroleum jelly on it. That might actually increase the risk of infection and it might hurt you."