If you’re spending more time outdoors, it’s important to be aware of ticks. May is Lyme disease awareness month in Ontario, black-legged ticks could be carrying the disease. Public Health Inspector with the vector-borne disease program Brendan Hatton, says the primary method of staying safe is wearing longer clothing.
Hatton also recommends wearing bright coloured clothing and having someone do a tick check, he adds ticks are more common in wooded and grassy areas. He says if a tick attaches to the skin, it needs to be carefully removed with tweezers.
Hatton says once the tick has been removed, bring the tick to the Health Unit to identify it. He adds if the tick contains Borrelia which causes Lyme disease, it will give the Unit an indication of Lyme disease in the district.