My son loves to sweep and rake leaves. We live in the woods and have a lot of leaves, so this can go on for weeks. We stopped spraying Wondercide in the summer and didn’t see any ticks since we started in Spring.
By the way, Wondercide is amazing and really works. This is an affiliate link, just because I have it already set up for other stuff, but I’m seriously endorsing it. It is cedar oil, which is nontoxic to humans, pets, and bees. It smells a bit when you first spray it, but only for a couple of hours. Then you are good to go.
Ticks After the Freeze
Anyway, I found two big ticks on my kids AFTER the freeze. These are adult ticks and probably looking for a second feed. In fact, ticks can be active any time it is over 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and we have been having a lot of 60 degree plus days lately.
And ticks love leaf piles!
So you have to check your little ones every time they play in the leaves.
What To Do When You Find a Tick
When we find a tick, we remove it immediately with tweezers and clean the area with alcohol. Make sure you get all the little bits because they can cause an infection if left in there. It is a myth that you are more likely to get Lyme if the tick breaks.
Then we put it in a baggy and send it to a lab for testing.
Why do we send our ticks to a lab?
It takes weeks to test yourself for Lyme disease, but you can test the tick immediately.
Some people take antibiotics anytime they get a tick. That is there choice, but we don’t because we worry about antibiotic resistance and because it does a number on my body. If you remove the tick quickly enough, most diseases cannot be transmitted. “In most cases, the tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted,” per the CDC.
But we like the peace of mind that comes from a negative tick testing. We don’t have to worry too much about watching for symptoms. If the tick does test positive and it was only on for a short bit, we then watch for symptoms more carefully. Testing the tick can also tell you if the tick carries other more rare diseases you might need to watch out for.
Photo by Erik Karits