Ticks can carry illnesses like Lyme disease (Photo provided by Carys Richardson, Nature Conservancy of Canada)

By Justin Goulet

Tick Season

Let’s talk about ticks

Jun 28, 2020 | 11:11 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – After going for a walk in the woods, you might want to check yourself for ticks.

The small insects can be found in yards, city parks and the backcountry.

“These are just insects that share an environment with us. They’re just part of the ecosystem,” said Carys Richards with the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCOC) Alberta branch.

“Ticks prefer to live in wooded, shaded areas or tall grass. They can be found across the province…they’re a problem if you’re out in the backcountry in the middle of nowhere or whether you live in a city.”

Richards said the reason the NCOC is speaking up about ticks this time of year is because the little creatures are known to carry illnesses, including Lyme disease.

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She added that over the last decade, there’s been an increase tick bites being reported.

“In 2009, there was less than 150 tick bites reported, and two years ago, there were more than 2,000 tick bites reported.”

PREVENTION

Some of the ways to avoid getting bitten by a tick, according to Richards, include wearing insect repellant, long sleeved clothing and long pants. Tucking your pants into your socks is also an option.

If you see a tick crawling on you, she said you can just brush it off. However, the insects can be difficult to spot because of their size, with Richards describing them to be like “the size of a poppy seed”.

She noted that when you do get home from a walk outside, even if you don’t suspect a tick bite, it’s a good idea to check your body for ticks or a bite.

“If you do suspect you have a tick bite, one of the first symptoms will be like a small rash that looks like a bullseye. If you can identify a tick in it, you can remove the tick using tweezers by gently grasping its head as close to the skin and try to pull it off. Don’t twist or jerk it or squash it because then the tick might release bacteria into the bite,” she explained.

Richards added that when you do remove the tick from your body, you should save it in a pill bottle or plastic bag to have it tested by a local health agency.

“They’ll be able to let you know if there was any infections,” she said.

“Also, just go and get a doctor to check you out as soon as possible. Because, even if the tick that bit you was diseased, so many of the tick bites are easily treated with just a little antibiotics and the sooner you get it checked out the better.”

PETS AND TICKS

Family pets like dogs are just as susceptible to a tick bite as humans, Richards told LNN.

She suggested dog owners try their best to keep dogs away from tall grass. However, if that’s not possible, it’s important to check over the pet upon the return to home.

If you think your dog was bitten by a tick, Richards said you should do the same as you would for yourself: try to remove the tick and bring your dog to the vet to get a check-up.

She said the goal of the NCOC’s tick awareness campaign is not to scare people from going outside, but to educate Albertans that these insects are out there, and to be cautious.

“We’re really encouraging people to go outside, particularly this [summer] with COVID and this health crisis going on, being outdoors makes people happier, healthier and more productive and those are things we really need in our lives right now,” Richards said.

“Talking about ticks isn’t to try to scare people away from going outside, it’s juts to make them a little bit smarter about the kind of activities that they’re doing…ticks are just one more piece of wildlife that share the natural world with us and we just have to learn the safest way to encounter them.”

More on the Nature Conservancy of Canada can be found here.