Environmental Health Issues
- Biological Hazards
- Ticks and Lyme Disease
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Let's Target Lyme! Ministry of Health Campaign
Reduce Ticks Around Your Home
Ticks prefer to live in humid, wooded areas. To help protect your family and pets from contact
with ticks there are several actions you can take to make your environment less favourable for
ticks.
- Keep the grass in your yard mowed.
- Remove brush and fallen leaves from the edges of your property, especially if your yard is
bordered by woods or fields of
tall grass.
- A border of gravel or wood
chips that creates a physical
separation between lawns
and wooded areas will help
reduce the movement of
ticks from their natural
habitat into your yard.
- Clean up areas under and
around bird feeders, to reduce
the attraction of small critters
such as mice and voles.
These mammals help to
transport ticks and are
necessary hosts for ticks
to complete their life cycle.
- Place children’s play structures away from wooded areas to avoid exposure to ticks
How to Avoid Tick Bites
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Use an insect repellent with
DEET. Read manufacturer’s
directions for safe use.
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If you are going to be in long
grass, wear light coloured
clothing, long-sleeved shirts,
long pants, socks and
shoes.Tuck your pants into your
socks. This allows for easy
identification of ticks on you.
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When you return from being
outdoors, check yourself for
ticks (include armpits, groin,
scalp and have someone else
check the back of your body). A
quick shower may help to
remove any ticks not yet
attached.
- Protect your pet; contact your
vet.
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Learn to Recognize Ticks
- If you see a tick on your body that
resembles the unfed tick above, it
means that the tick was probably
attached for less than 24 hours
therefore there was not enough time to
transfer the bacteria. If the tick on your
body resembles the fed tick above, then
this indicates that the tick has been
attached for a longer period of time.
- Why it takes more than 24 hours to get infected from a feeding tick
How to Remove a Tick
Don’t squeeze the tick or try to burn it off or put anything on it.
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Grasp the tick by the head as close to your skin as possible. Pull it straight out, gently but firmly. Use tweezers if possible.
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Thoroughly clean the bite area (use soap and water or a disinfectant)
- Make note of the date you removed the tick.
- If you develop symptoms of Lyme disease, consult your health care provider.
- A red rash may appear within 3 days to
several weeks following the bite; a
bullseye rash may be present in the area
of the bite. You may also have a fever
with the rash.
- Symptoms of the disease may include bulls eye rash,
fever, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint
pain. These may disappear within 10
days, but if left untreated, Lyme disease
can progress and affect the nervous
system, joints and the heart.
Tick Submission Forms
Concerns Associated with Advocacy
of Lyme Disease
Resources
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