Tick season in Ontario: How to protect yourself

It is tick season here in Ontario and experts are reminding people to take precautions as cases of Lyme disease appear to be on the rise. With more, we are joined by Curtis Russell, a senior program specialist at Public Health Ontario. Thank you so much for joining. Thank you for having me. For those who might not know, what is Lyme disease and how is it being spread by ticks. So Lyme disease is a bacterial infection and pretty much the only really primary way you can get it is getting bit by an infected tick. With that being said, it’s only one or certain species of ticks that can transmit it and without Ontario that’s called the black legged tick, sometimes also known the deer tick. So that’s the only way we can get it here is those ticks have to be infected and they have to bite. Yikes. OK, well, we’ll talk a little bit more about where you might see them the most, but let’s talk about the numbers. Last year, just under 1800 confirmed cases of Lyme disease. That is a significant jump. So what is leading to all of this? Biggest thing is we have more black legged ticks in Ontario and they’re in more areas of the province. So every year we’ve noticed that we’re seeing a continuing expansion of the tick population, black legged tick population throughout the province. That being said, these ticks are only in brushy wooded areas. So if you’re seeing that’s where they’re going to occur, that was my next question. Where are you finding them? So you said sort of like the wooded brush area in in in any specific regions. We do see the areas where we see the most populations of these Black Lake, it takes us along the north shores of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River. But we are seeing expansion to other parts of the province. We’ve even seen them in the Thunder Bay and the Northwestern Ontario regions. These ticks, the only thing that’s really a danger to these ticks is if they dry out, they die. So they need leaf later to go down into when it gets hot. So that’s why I always say those brushy wooded areas is where you’re going to find them. So, you know, I could say fall off a bird into a, say, a soccer field, but that area is so dry that they won’t actually be living there. Or you know, on a parking lot, it’s in those brushy wooded areas. So when you’re walking your pet going for a hike, that’s why I always say stay in the middle of the trail so you’re not out into those brushy areas coming into contact with the ticks. OK, so this is a two-part question for you. One is, you know, what do you do, You want to go on hikes, You wanted to get into the ravine. So how do you protect yourself is part one. And then the second part will be how do you know to look for them? What are you exactly looking for? So let’s begin with what you should be wearing, what you should be doing, right. So we always say still get outside, it’s good, you know, be healthy. It’s just the ticks are in that leaf litter in that brushy stuff. So they won’t be in the middle of a hiking trail. So we always say stay in the middle of trail, try not to come into contact with the brush. The best example I can say is you know when you go for hiking, you get all those birds stuck to you from the plants, they don’t come to you, you have to come brushing into them. So same thing with the ticks. So if you stay in the middle of the trail you’re less likely. Then we talk about personal protection. So put on bug sprays containing DEET or Cardin or Promethrin. The ticks really don’t like those things. So spraying those on to you mainly on to your clothes will help also repel the ticks. And then we say to wear light colored long sleeve clothing. That way because the ticks are dark, you have a better chance of seeing them on you. And then once you’re out of that environment, we call, we call it tick check, we call it the buddy system. I’ll let you define who your buddy is, but we say have them check all the areas that you can’t check to look to see if there’s any ticks on you. Do not forget the pets because it can get lost in all their fur. Right, right. And see they do. There is products talk to your local veterinarian, but there is products that you can administer to your pet to help reduce them from getting ticks on them as well. Big things too is people need to realize that these tips are really small. No matter how much you tell them how small they are, they are tiny. So usually in spring and fall is when the adults are out and they’re a bit bigger, about the size of, say, a sesame seed. However, as you move actually kind of end of May into June, you start to move into nymphs and larva and the nymphs are the problem ones because they’re about the size of a poppy seed. So you don’t really see them on you because a big thing with these black legged ticks and Lyme disease is they have to be attached and feeding on you for about 24 hours before they can transmit the bacteria, if they have the bacteria. So a big thing is, is to try to get those ticks off before that because they’re so small in the summer months, it’s hard for people to notice. So it’s a big thing is if you’ve been on the environment and you’ve been exposed to ticks and you’re concerned about your health, just make sure you see your healthcare provider, but let them know you’re in environments where those ticks could be present. A lot of great information. Curtis Russell with Public Health Ontario, thank you so much. Thank you for having me.