It’s officially summer, the season of long, sunny days, lots of time spent outside, and more encounters with our unfriendly neighbors – ticks. Ticks carry many scary diseases and can easily tag along or bite without notice. You may have heard that tick numbers have been increasing in recent years, but don’t let them stop your family from enjoying your favorite places outdoors!

1. Dress children in light-colored clothing, pants, and long sleeves when playing in wooded or grassy areas
2. Use insect repellant. 10-30% DEET is safe for children 2 months and up but only apply DEET once/day
3. Keep grass in yard mowed and free of leaf litter
4. Take clothes off when they come indoors & throw in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any ticks that might have gotten on clothing
5. Get in the bath or shower right away (or within 2 hrs.) and do a full-body tick check (see image below)
6. Remove any crawling ticks and attached ticks immediately with tweezers or a tick remover tool (pictured below). Dispose of ticks in the toilet, sealed in a bag, or in tape, and throw away
7. Wash the bite area and your hands with warm, soapy water or a bit of rubbing alcohol, may apply antibiotic ointment to the bite