Ticks are a fairly large family of pests that are arachnids and therefore related to spiders.
The bite of a these little pests can transmit a host of diseases including Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness plus others with too many syllables to pronounce.
The irony is that all of the above have basically the same symptoms, process for diagnosis and treatment options with the significant variation being a tell-tale circular rash associated with Lyme Disease.
Basically, you are dealing with fever, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches that present themselves within 1 - 2 weeks following a bite.
There can also be nausea and vomiting.
Diagnosis is typically based on symptoms, clinical presentation, and later confirmed with specialized laboratory tests.
The first line of treatment for adults and children of all ages is often doxycycline.
Different diseases are caused by different types of ticks and the distribution of each species varies across the United States.
For example, Lyme Disease is caused by the black-legged tick which has distribution concentrated in the Northeast United States as well as the Upper Midwest.
The dog tick and the Rocky Mountain wood tick cause Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever yet most incidences of this disease are found nowhere near the Rocky Mountains but concentrated in Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
Populations of these disease-carrying pests vary based on environmental factors such as rainfall and temperatures.
Incidences of tick borne diseases have steadily increased over time and have ranged between 20,000 and 30,000 cases each year.
One causal factor in increasing diagnoses is a better educated public as to signs and symptoms but the truth is, tick borne diseases are on the rise and will continue to increase.
A primary reason for this increase is the scientific phenomenon of 'Pesticide Resistance' whereas each successive generation of pests is less affected by synthetic chemical pesticides.
Here is how Pesticide Resistance works - if a certain population of pests is exposed to a man-made concoction designed to kill them, a certain percentage will be immune.
They in turn pass that immunity onto their offspring and with frequent generations each year, soon the entire pest population is resistant to that particular pesticide product.
So in our efforts to diminish the population, we are actually creating Super Ticks that require stronger, more lethal chemicals for control.
No wonder cases are on the rise! So what is the solution? To manage our exposure risk, there are environmental measures we can take.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, below is a list of proactive step you can take to minimize your exposure: • Remove leaf litter.
• Clear tall grasses and brush around homes and at the edge of lawns.
• Place a 3-ft wide barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas to restrict tick migration into recreational areas.
• Mow the lawn frequently.
• Stack wood neatly and in a dry area (discourages rodents).
• Keep playground equipment, decks, and patios away from yard edges and trees.
• Discourage unwelcome animals (such as deer, raccoons, and stray dogs) from entering your yard by constructing fences.
• Remove old furniture, mattresses, or trash from the yard that may give ticks a place to hide.
But the most effective preventative measure against tick borne illness is to use repellents.
Using a natural product effective against ticks is always superior to a synthetic product because natural products cannot develop Pesticide Resistance.
Natural ingredient repellents can be used directly on people as well as in the yard to create a barrier for ticks to enter.
When it comes to ticks and the diseases they carry, it is hard to over-prevent as many of these diseases remain a health issue for some time with lingering, debilitating symptoms.
Take educated precautions against tick bites using safe, natural repellents for the best possible outcome.