I like to believe that I have love and compassion for all living things. Even spiders and snakes – which are pretty common fears for people – don’t scare me enough to make me run away from them.
You could say I have a high tolerance for creepy crawlies… just not when it comes to ticks.
Honestly, as embarrassing as it is, I wouldn’t lose any sleep if ticks disappeared from the planet tomorrow, never to return. They’re not only annoying (and invasive) but can also be quite harmful.
Ticks can carry serious illnesses like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, so it’s clear they aren’t the best guests you want around…
Depending on where you live, the season, and if you have pets at home, your chances of running into ticks can be pretty high.
So what should you do if and when you find one of these tiny pests?
Identify and isolate the problem
It’s smart to try and figure out what kind of tick it is (like a black-legged tick or dog tick). If the tick is in a certain spot, keep your kids or pets away until it’s dealt with.
Credit / Wikimedia Commons
Protective steps
To prevent a tick from grabbing onto you wear gloves along with long-sleeved clothes so your skin isn’t exposed.
Clean thoroughly
Make sure to wash any clothes or bedding that might’ve touched the tick really well on high heat! Vacuum everywhere paying close attention to corners & cracks.
Tick removal
Use fine-tipped tweezers & grab hold of the tick as close as possible to your skin’s surface. Pull straight up slowly but don’t twist or jerk so its head doesn’t break off in your skin.
After removing it clean any bite areas using alcohol or soap water! You can use alcohol for disposing of the tick too or flush it down toilet.
Monitor your bite
Keep an eye on any bites & watch out for symptoms in anyone who got bitten.
I hope this helps! Share this article on Facebook so more people know.
