Tick Season Is Among Us

Ticks in the Northland are prevalent, but with the right steps they can be easily prevented.

DULUTH, Minn.– Tick season is already in full force and nobody is safe from these little guys. There are, however, some preventative measures you can take to keep them off.

Ticks are prevalent in the Northland and they can cause a lot of issues, including Lyme Disease. This infection if gone untreated, can potentially become life-threatening, impacting both humans and our furry friends. However, not every tick is infected, so doctors say that once symptoms start to kick in, it is necessary to reach out to a physician.

“If the tick is crawling on your skin or if it’s easily removed from the skin, the likelihood that it had enough time to transmit any sort of illness is really low,” says Dr. Niki Groeshl, “So the tick actually has be embedded in the skin and engorged, and kind of attached to you for at least 36, if not 48 hours or more to actually transmit Lyme disease.”

Groeshl says the most common sign of Lyme disease is a bullseye rash on the skin. Although, finding a rash on your pet might be more difficult, so early steps of prevention keeps your pets from contracting the disease.

“We always recommend starting as early as March, as soon as we get a couple nice forty degree days in March, the ticks come out. A lot of people don’t think to put the preventative on because, they’re still seeing snow, but they definitely do come out,” says Veterinarian Jodi Carlson.

Doctors say covering your skin up when outdoors, using tick repellant like deet and looking over your skin from head to toe when you come back inside is the best way to prevent and catch them before any serious harm can be done. As for your pets, you can ask your vet about safe preventative treatments.