Tick smart: Prevention is key

Each time Carrie Elvey and her golden retriever walk through the woods behind their home, she stops to check herself and her dog for ticks before heading back inside.

The senior naturalist at the Wilderness Center near Wilmot knows that ticks hide in tall grassy areas waiting to attach themselves to clothing or fur.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tick exposure can occur year-round with higher activity during warmer months. Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are the two most common tick-borne illnesses in the state, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

"People should be cautious, but the mental and physical health benefits (of being outdoors) probably far out way the risk from mosquitoes and ticks," Elvey said. "Just using common precautions is what you should do."

If a resident lives near a grassy or wooded area and is concerned about whether that area is a hot spot for ticks, Elvey recommends attaching a white sheet to a broom and raking it through the grassy area. If there is a high population of ticks, Elvey said, the insects should be visible on the white sheet.

Ticks are easier to spot on light-colored material, she explained, which is why hikers should wear light-colored clothing when hitting the trails to make it easier to search for ticks.

When walking at trails at The Wilderness Center, Barnes Preserve or Oak Hill Park, hikers should walk in the center of the trail as often as possible to stay away from grassy areas where ticks can hide, Elvey said.

Stephanie Featheringill, director of Ashland County Park District, said volunteers work hard to keep the grass mowed on walking or hiking paths with natural trails.

The district includes 18 parks with hiking trails at each location. The majority of the trails are grass with a few stone and paved paths, she said. Byers Wood and Freer Field each have a 1-mile paved trail.

With two full-time staff members and a handful of part-time staffers, the majority of maintenance such as mowing is done by volunteers, Featheringill said. Volunteers mow a path as wide as 8 feet to help keep away from high grass, and typically mow once per week, she added.

"Our volunteers help us out tremendously with keeping all of the grass and the trails looking nice, which does prevent ticks on the trails," Featheringill said.

Lyme disease cases up

Ticks can be active any time temperatures reach above 45 degrees, Sarah M. Short, assistant professor with Ohio State University'sDepartment of Entomology.

Ticks like to hide in warm, moist areas on the body, Short said. After being outdoors, Short recommended checking areas where the clothing meets the skin such as waistline, neck, ankle and knee as well as the hairline and groin.

Spring and early summer is prime for nymph ticks, she said, which can be as small as a poppy seed and difficult to see. Blacklegged ticks -- also known as deer ticks -- and the American dog tick are most common in Ohio.

Blacklegged ticks can transmit Lyme disease, Short, who holds a doctorate in genetics and development, explained. American dog ticks can not. Identifying ticks can be difficult; resources available on OSU's website can help with identification of tick types.

Showering within a few hours of returning indoors can help wash off any ticks that have not yet attached to the body, she said.

If someone finds a tick on them, they should remove it as soon as possible using a pair of pointy tweezers as recommended by the CDC.

Ticks can be sent to TickReport.com for a fee to get the insect tested for disease, Short said.

Short included safety recommendations and instructions for tick removal in a 13-minute video on OSU's website. In the video, Short explains that confirmed Lyme disease cases have doubled in Ohio within the last six years.

"Preventing tick bites is key," Short said. "That's really what people want to do. Once you get a tick bite, you've opened the door to infection. You really want to avoid getting tick bites. It's not always possible, and if you can remove the tick as quickly as possible that really reduces the chance of Lyme disease, for example. But the best thing is prevention."

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