MADISON (NBC 26) — While Memorial Day Weekend leads us into summer's warmer weather, it also brings back the prime season for ticks and mosquitoes.
"We recommend that everyone venturing outdoors this weekend and this summer take a few simple steps to fight the bite to prevent ticks and mosquitoes from biting you," said Rebecca Osborn, Wisconsin Department of Health Services vectorborne disease epidemiologist.
Both ticks and mosquitoes are common in Wisconsin, especially in wooded, brushy and grassy areas, Osborn said. They are active now and will be for the next several months. They spread disease through bites. The most common disease is Lyme Disease, spread through bite of infected deer tick.
On average about 3,500 cases of Lyme Disease are reported each year in Wisconsin, putting the state among the top 20% in the nation for the highest number of cases, Osborn said. This number of reported Lyme Disease cases is likely underestimating the true occurrence of Lyme Disease by more than 10 fold.
DHS tips for staying protected from ticks include:
- Before heading outdoors use an EPA registered insect repellent on exposed skin or clothing. Prior to use, you can treat clothing, shoes and gear with an insectside called Permethrin to keep ticks and mosquitoes from biting. Carefully follow label instructions.
- You can also wear long sleeves and pants to cover exposed skin.
- While you're outdoors, avoid walking directly through tall grass, brush or areas with a lot of leaf litter as these are areas where ticks are most common.
- After returning inside do a thorough tick check on yourself and family members.
- If you can, bathe or shower within two hours of coming indoors to wash off ticks that might have come in on your skin.
- Put clothes in dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any ticks you may have picked up outside.
- If you do get bitten by a tick, monitor yourself for fever, rash or flu like illness for next 30 days. If you develop these symptoms, call health care provider and make sure to tell them you might have been by a tick.
