As summer approaches, ticks are becoming more active in most regions of the U.S. In the upcoming months, experts warn that ticks and the diseases they are associated with will be more abundant because of the warmer winter temperatures.

What are ticks?

As explained by Goudarz Molaei, a research scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, ticks are not insects. They are actually arachnids with 8 legs.”People should realize that ticks do not jump. They do not fly, and they do not drop from trees,” Molaei said.

In order to survive, ticks need to eat the blood of birds, reptiles, amphibians, or mammals. A biting tick poses huge risk to human health, particularly if infected with parasites, bacteria, or viruses.

According to Durland Fish, a professor emeritus of epidemiology (microbial diseases) at the Yale School of Public Health, there are three feeding stages of ticks. The black-legged tick is the size of a period at the end of the sentence, the nymphs are the size of a poppy seed, and the adult ticks are the size of an apple seed.

Ticks are typically found under leaves, on ground cover, near structures and woodpiles, and around walls.



What Illnesses are caused by infected tick bites?

“Illness depends on where you are and what kind of tick is biting you,” Fish explained. “And what kind of tick is biting you depends on where you are and what time of year it is.”

“However, the most important of these ticks is the black-legged tick,” he said, noting that it “is involved in transmission of at least five important disease agents”: babesiosis, anaplasmosis, Borrelia miyamotoi infection, Powassan virus and Lyme disease.

The good news is that worry is unnecessary as prevention is possible. The genius technique presented below is very simple and more than effective in preventing ticks from biting you.

All you need is lint roller and a couple of minutes of your precious time. Pretty much all you have to do is to take the roller with your while outdoors and roll it on your clothes from time to time. You will be taken aback by what you pick up after a while.

If you want to diminish the risk of ticks gent onto you as you sit or walk, include peppermint essential oil to your regimen. You can either spray it on the clothes or rub it on the skin topically. In case your skin is too sensitive, dilute the oil with jojoba or almond oil prior using it. The strong peppermint scent helps deter black flies, ticks, and mosquitoes, but a lint roller should be used as an adjunct when conditions are not favorable.
Interestingly, you can obtain the same results by using a duct tape wrapper around the hand (sticky side out). Needless to say, the lint roller is much easier to manage and far more convenient. This is really a genius trick to remember and share with anyone who wants to spend time outdoors without worrying about ticks!