Staying safe in spring tick season

AccuWeather

Dr. Tom Mather shares tips on staying safe during tick season.

Transcript

00:00All right, these interviews can make me itchy.

00:02Oh, yeah.

00:02Spring means more time outdoors, and with it, a higher risk of tick bites.

00:07Dr. Tom Mather is director of the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector Bore Disease.

00:12He's here with tips on staying safe this tick season.

00:14Thank you so much for being with us.

00:17Thanks for inviting me.

00:18All right, there are several types of ticks, and if you find one, what should you do?

00:23And what if it's already attached?

00:26Those are all great questions.

00:28I think that the first thing people need to know is what types of ticks they are,

00:32because different ticks transmit different germs.

00:35And so the first step is to know just what kind of tick it is.

00:39The best way to do that is to not just flush it down the toilet right away, but to save it.

00:45Once you've removed it, you can save it in a Ziploc bag or something,

00:51and then work towards trying to figure out what type of tick it is.

00:56We have three main kinds of ticks that affect people in the United States.

01:01American dog ticks, black-legged ticks, and lone star ticks.

01:04Then there's a whole host of other species that people might encounter as well,

01:09but probably 90% of the ticks that people encounter are those three species.

01:15But they come in a few different flavors, sort of male and females.

01:19They look different.

01:20Then there's the nymphal stage, life stage, which is smaller than the adult stage, life.

01:26So it's kind of not overwhelming, but a lot of things that people should try and know.

01:32And our tick encounter website has a great resource for identifying ticks.

01:39You can take a clear picture of the top side of the tick and send it to us,

01:43and within 24 hours, we'll get back to you and tell you what kind of tick it is,

01:48and then other information about what types of germs that you might expect

01:53and other things for protection.

01:57All right.

01:57Many of us think of ticks and also Lyme disease.

02:00Is that still a major threat, and are there other diseases ticks can carry?

02:07Great question, Bernie.

02:10You know, the main thing that, like you said, people sort of equate ticks with Lyme disease,

02:16but as I mentioned, the different types of ticks transmit different germs.

02:20So black-legged ticks and western black-legged ticks carry the Lyme disease germ,

02:25but American dog ticks and lone star ticks do not.

02:28And so that's why being able to identify your tick is important.

02:34In terms of the diseases that you get, Lyme disease is still sort of a leading culprit

02:43with over a half a million new cases of Lyme disease every year across America.

02:50One that we're keeping an eye on is associated with the lone star tick bites in particular called alpha-gal syndrome.

02:58It's a scary subject, but the bites of those ticks don't transmit a germ,

03:04but they spit into you some of their saliva that contains a sugar that they had gotten in a previous blood meal

03:12from feeding on an animal.

03:14And that sugar can stimulate an allergic response when someone eats red meat.

03:19And so that really can be a life-changing event and mostly associated with lone star tick bites.

03:28And so that's why we're really interested in warning people about tick protection in particular.

03:35You don't know what kind of tick might get on you,

03:38but you definitely don't want to be bitten by a lone star tick.

03:41Well, speaking of tick protection, what about tick sprays and clothing with permethrin in it?

03:46How safe are they for kids, adults, and even pets?

03:50Yeah, so the permethrin-treated clothing is the way to go as far as our studies show.

03:56Once it's bound to the fabric and it's dry, it doesn't really transfer across your skin very well.

04:02There are some other great products for protecting your pets as well.

04:08The easiest to use are these chew tablets that people give to their pets,

04:14and that will kill the tick once the tick is attached to the host,

04:18but it won't protect you from loose and wandering ticks on your pet.

04:25And so that is another issue.

04:27So for that, there are some spray and topical products as well that also work pretty well.

04:34I think in terms of repellents, you mentioned the permethrin-treated clothing.

04:40Companies like Insect Shield treat clothing already, and you can purchase that,

04:45or they actually have a service where you can send your own favorite clothes,

04:49like you have Lucky Golf Shorts or something.

04:52You can send them in and have them treated for you.

04:55The first step, I think, is to just get used to the fact that once this permethrin is dried on your clothing,

05:03it's not going to really cause much of a toxicity concern.

05:10Some of the other sprays that people like to use, natural product sprays,

05:15we're in the process of testing them now,

05:18but right now our studies suggest that they're not as long-lasting as perhaps your outdoor adventure will be.

05:25So you may think that you've protected yourself, but you may not be as protected as you would like.

05:31But the permethrin-treated clothing definitely lasts for a while through several washes in particular.

05:41All right, Dr. Tom Mazler, Director of the University of Rhode Island Center for Vector-Borne Disease.

05:47Thanks again for joining us.

05:49Great information.

05:50So knowledgeable.

05:52I have so many more questions, but we appreciate you being with us this morning

05:55and hopefully helping to keep people safer this summer as they make their adventures.

Category

Transcript

Recommended