It’s tick season, but how do you avoid the little arachnids? NPR asks two experts in tick bites and behavior.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
We are in the height of tick bite season. But when you get bit by a tick, it’s not really a bite.
MICHAEL RAUPP: They have mouth parts that are remarkably adapted for basically drilling in and anchoring inside your skin.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Ouch. Michael Raupp is professor emeritus of etymology at the University of Maryland.
RAUPP: That’s why the tick is so darn hard to remove once it’s on.
MARTIN: So before you take a ramble through the woods, Raupp says it is crucial to slather on tick repellent. And you should follow his fashion advice.
RAUPP: I really do look geeky when I do this. But if you’re wearing pants, tuck those pant legs into your socks.
MARTÍNEZ: You can even buy clothing treated with a tick repellent – permethrin – or just stay out of the places where ticks are most at home.
MARTIN: CDC epidemiologist Alison Hinckley says try your best to avoid the grassy, brushy or wooded areas.
ALISON HINCKLEY: If you’re hiking, staying in the middle of a trail is a great way to avoid exposure to those ticks.
MARTÍNEZ: Once home, our experts suggest you check for ticks in the shower and throw your clothes in the dryer on medium to high heat for about 30 minutes to kill the bugs at any life stage. And Hinckley says if you do find a tick…
HINCKLEY: The best way to remove a tick is to use fine-tipped tweezers, although you can use your fingertips. If there are any parts that get left in your skin after you remove the tick, it’s OK.
MARTIN: After you remove the tick, Professor Raupp recommends sending it to a lab for identification.
RAUPP: Not only are they going to identify which species the tick is, these tick-testing laboratories will determine, actually, which species of tick-borne illness pathogen they are carrying.
MARTIN: So you can learn what you may have been exposed to.
MARTÍNEZ: And if you’re feeling tired with flu-like symptoms or you have a rash in the shape of a bull’s eye, the CDC’s Hinckley says to act quickly.
HINCKLEY: That’s certainly a sign that it’s time to get to your healthcare provider. You can get antibiotics for it that help get rid of the infection, and the sooner you get it, the better the outcome.
MARTIN: Just a few tips for enjoying and surviving the outdoors in fashion-challenged safety.
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