What is personal protection?
Personal protection involves taking steps to help stop ticks from biting you and passing on Lyme disease. These steps should be taken when you are enjoying the outdoors to help prevent a tick bite:1
- Wear light coloured clothes to make it easier to spot ticks.
- Wear long pants, a long sleeved shirt, closed-toe shoes and tuck your pants into your socks when walking in grassy or wooded areas.
- Apply insect repellent / bug spray containing DEET or Icaridin to clothing and exposed skin (always follow label directions). View personal insect repellents for information on how to choose the right one for your needs.
- Walk on cleared paths or trails.
- Keep children and pets from wandering off paths.
- Avoid using trails created by animals (such as deer and moose), as ticks are often found on the grass and plants along these trails.
- Check yourself, family members, pets, and outdoor gear (e.g. backpacks) after leaving an area where ticks may live. For example after visiting trails, long grass and wooded areas. View: Top 10 tick hiding spots on your body.
- Shower or bathe as soon as possible, as it can help you find unattached ticks.
How to reduce tick habitats near your home:1
- Keep grass cut short in areas around your home and cottage where people and pets may walk.
- Remove leaf litter, brush, long grass and weeds at the edge of the lawn and around stonewalls and woodpiles.
- Prune shrubs and trees to allow sunlight to filter through.
- Create a 1-metre or wider wood chip, mulch or gravel border between your lawn and woods, shrubs or stone edges.
- Seal stone walls and other openings to help prevent animals such as deer, mice and other rodents from bringing ticks into your yard.
- Place patios, decks and children's playground sets in sunny areas of the yard and away from yard edges. Place playground sets on a mulch or wood chip surface.
See the Lyme disease web page to learn more about what ticks are and where they can be found.
How to properly remove a tick
For safe removal of a tick, the Middlesex-London Health Unit suggests you follow these instructions:
- Try to wear gloves when handling an engorged (blood fed) tick.
- Use tweezers and grab the tick as close to the head as possible. Do not use your fingers.
- Pull the tick upward and away from the body with steady pressure. Be sure to pull the tick straight out.
- Once the tick has been removed, clean the area with soap and water. Seek medical attention if you are concerned about a possible skin infection.
- Wash your hands thoroughly.
If possible, submit a photo of the tick to etick.ca or submit it to the Health Unit for identification. See How to Submit a Tick to the Health Unit.