UNDATED, (WTAQ) – Warmer temperatures have arrived in Northeast Wisconsin and so have the ticks.
Vector borne Disease Epidemiologist with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Rebecca Osborn, says the external parasites appear to be very active this year and there’s a reason for that.
“We did have a relatively mild winter which can indicate that we’ll have more ticks that are active in the spring, summer, and fall season. It does seem they were active fairly early this spring,” said Osborn.
Osborn says to be sure to protect yourself prior to heading outside by wearing repellant with 20-30% DEET, wear protective clothing including long pants and sleeves and tucking your pants into your socks, and avoid areas that have ticks.
But if you do find a tick embedded in your skin, Osborn says don’t panic.
“The best way to remove a tick is just use a standard set of fine tip tweezers, gasp the tick as close as you can to your skin as possible, then pull gently but firmly straight up, no need to twist or anything.”
Osborn explains that a tick needs to be embedded in your skin between 24-48 hours before it’s able to transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
Lyme disease symptoms include the bullseye red marking around the tick bite area, fever, headache, fatigue, stiff neck, muscle or joint pain.
Some symptoms don’t appear for months or even years later which may include arthritis, larger joints, irregular heart rhythms, complications with the nervous system, even meningitis, or memory problems can occur in untreated Lyme disease.
For more information on ticks in Wisconsin, go to www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/tickborne.
