Areas across Michigan, including Northern Michigan, are seeing an explosion of tick activity this year. As the weather becomes nicer and people head outdoors to enjoy nature, District Health Department #10 (DHD#10) reminds everyone to exercise proper precautions to prevent human-tick interactions.
“There are multiple tick species found in Michigan, each having the potential to carry and transmit different diseases. The Blacklegged tick is a known vector for Lyme disease, which is the most common tick-borne disease in Michigan,” said DHD#10 Environmental Health Coordinator, Meghan Stih. “MDHHS has a great tool to help identify the five common ticks and learn about the risk associated with them (https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/emergingdiseases/Folder2/5commonticks.pdf).”
Please take the proper precautions, which include:
- Be aware of your surroundings. Most tick encounters happen in shady, moist wooded and grassy areas and fields near wooded areas.
- Apply EPA-registered insect repellent that contains 30% or more DEET, picaridin, or IR3535, to skin or clothing according to label’s instructions.
- Wear clothing that has been treated with permethrin.
- Walk in the center of trails and avoid walking in areas with tall grass and brush.
- Conduct a full-body check of yourself and your pets for ticks after spending time outdoors.
- Dry clothing on high heat for 60 minutes to kill any remaining ticks.
- Take a shower as soon as you can after coming indoors.
- Talk to your vet about tick bite prevention products for your pets.
Michigan also offers tick identification resources to residents and visitors for free. Physical ticks can be placed in a container and mailed to MDHHS, or photos may be submitted to MDHHS-Bugs@michigan.gov.
Residents with questions about ticks and other insects can contact DHD#10’s Environmental Health Division at 888-217-3904.
Additional information regarding ticks and Lyme disease can be found here:
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