The arrival of warmer weather and frequent rain signals spring, but also marks the arrival of tick season.
Doctor Patricia Quinlisk, with the Iowa Department of Public Health, says there are a wide variety of ticks in the state and they’re all potentially dangerous.
Some suggestions for preventing tick bites include; avoid wooded and grassy areas, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants tucked into socks or boots, and use insect repellents that contain DEET. Even though it takes a day or so for the attached ticks to inject the bacteria, checking yourself over immediately after being outdoors is also important.
It’s best to just pull the tick off, according to Quinlisk, rather than using folk remedies.
Quinlisk notes ticks tend to prefer the back of the knee, armpit, scalp, groin, and back of the neck. There were 319 cases of Lyme disease reported to IDPH in 2015.
For more information, visit idph.iowa.gov.
