Dr. Stafford Tick Management Handbook - Newtown, CT

StaffordPersonal ProtectionThe Connecticut Agricultural Experimentation StationTick Bite PreventionPersonal protection behaviors, including avoidance and reduction of time spent in tick-infestedhabitats, using protective clothing and tick repellents, checking the entire body for ticks, andpromptly removing attached ticks before transmission of Borrelia spirochetes can occur, can be veryeffective in preventing Lyme disease. While surveys and the continuing incidence of disease suggestthat few people practice these measures with suf. cient regularity, studies suggest that tick checksare the most effective method for the prevention of tick associated disease. Preventive measuresare often considered inconvenient and, in the summer, uncomfortable. Despite the ef. ciency oftick repellents, particularly with DEET applied to skin and permethrin applied to clothing, they areunder-utilized.Checking for ticks and prompt removal of attached ticks isprobably the most important and effective method of preventinginfection!Important points to consider in tick bite prevention and checkingfor ticks include:Tick Behavior & Risk of Exposure• Most (about 98%) Lyme disease cases are associated withthe bite of the nymphal stage of the blacklegged tick,of which 10-36% may be infected with Lyme diseasespirochetes.• Nymphal blacklegged ticks are very small (about the sizeof a pinhead), dif. cult to spot, and are active during thelate spring and summer months when human outdooractivity is greatest. The majority (about 75%) of Lymedisease cases are associated with activities (play, yard orgarden work) around the home.65• Adult blacklegged ticks are active in the fall, warmer daysin the winter, and in the spring when outdoor activity andexposure is more limited. They are larger, easier to spot,and therefore associated with fewer cases of Lyme disease(even though infection rates are higher).• Ticks do not jump, . y or drop from trees, but grasppassing hosts from the leaf litter, tips of grass, etc. Mostticks are probably picked up on the lower legs and thencrawl up the body seeking a place to feed. Adult tickswill, however, seek a host (i.e., deer) in the shrub layerseveral feet above the ground, about or above the heightof children.• Children 5-13 years of age are particularly at risk fortick bites and Lyme disease as playing outdoors has beenBulletin No. 1010 3566