Is Tick Season Really Over?

They say tick season on the west coast runs from November – April.  Well I don’t know about you, but it is the end of May and I am still pulling ticks off of our Labradors at the winery and off of our horses at home.

These insects are not just a nasty nuisance, they carry many debilitating diseases. As a matter of fact, Sunny our yellow Lab, contracted ehrlichiosis, a tick borne disease that affects the nervous and blood system.  He has never fully recovered from the disease, although some canines do.  The likely culprit in Sunny’s case is the Brown Dog Tick.

The ticks that prey on the horses are most likely the Western Black Legged Tick. During the worst part of the season, horses can carry so many ticks on them that they actually become anemic.  Treating them with tick sprays can drastically reduce the number of ticks they carry.

 A couple of years back, I found a tick on my lower abdomen and the bite area became very inflamed and swollen.  The doctor I saw didn’t bother to test for diseases and immediately put me on a dose of antibiotics stating that, no matter what type of tick it was, if it’s causing a reaction you need to be proactive. The Pacific Coast Tick is the most prevalent tick in California.  It feeds on cattle, horses, deer, and humans.  Since we are heavily populated with cattle and deer in this area, it is important to check your hair, skin and clothing for these buggers after hiking or working in the yard in rural areas.

My father, a big time nature lover who lives on the east coast, contracted Lymes Disease 25 years ago.  It was most likely from a deer tick which are prevalent in the Connecticut area.  They are so tiny in their nymph stage that they can easily go unnoticed. The longer they stay in the skin, the more likely it is that they will transmit the disease.

The signs, or symptoms, of early Lyme disease are flu-like feelings of headache, fatigue, stiff neck, fever, and muscle aches. A large number patients notice an expanding rash,  from days to weeks after the bite.  LD is a horribly insidious disease with many debilitating side effects.  It is essential that you check yourself and your children and pets after spending time outdoors especially during tick “season”.

They say that your chances of acquiring Lyme Disease are low if the tick is removed within the first 48 hours. The way you remove the tick is important!

Ignore all the old school removal methods like applying Vaseline (to suffocate them), nail polish, alcohol or a hot match.  I have done ALL of these things, being raised on the east coast surrounded by marshy land, we were always finding these predators on us.

You should not handle the tick with your bare hands.  Find a pair of gloves and with a pair of tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible, near the “head” of the tick. Pull gently and firmly in an upward steady motion until the tick releases its hold on the skin. Do not twist.  You do not want to break off the ticks mouth parts and leave them embedded in your skin!

Disinfect the area after removal and keep an eye on it for redness, swelling or a rash for about one month after you have been bitten.

If you want to have the tick tested, save it in a small plastic jar or zip-lock bag.

If you are not going to have the tick tested, flush it down the toilet. They are hard to kill and you don’t want to have it creeping back out of the garbage!!  Also, you DO NOT want to crush it because if it is carrying a disease, the fluid from it’s body could get on your hands and penetrate your skin.

Tick testing for Lyme Disease is a screen and will NOT definitively rule out or confirm the presence of the disease. Continue to watch for symptoms even if the tick testing comes back negative!

The tick can be alive or dead for testing.  Place the tick in a small plastic bottle or sealed plastic bag and enclose in an envelope or package suitable for shipping.

If you are going to have the tick tested the sooner the better.  Ask your doctor what site they want you to send or bring the tick to.