Nantucket Official Guide | Page 32

Conserving Nantucket
Please use the trash receptacles located throughout town and at island
beaches. You may also dispose of garbage and recyclables – at no charge –
at our landfill at 188 Madaket Road. Summer hours (May 1-September 30)
are 7am-3pm Monday through Friday, and 8am-12pm Saturday and
Sunday. Winter hours (October 1-April 30) are 8am-3pm Monday through
Friday, and 8am-12pm Saturday and Sunday.
If you would like to do more to help, Nantucket Clean Team volunteers
meet each Saturday from May through November – rain or shine –
for under an hour to pick up trash around the island. Log on to
www.ackcleanteam.org for further information.

©Michael Galvin

Deer Tick Awareness

Deer ticks are much smaller than dog ticks,
and can be the size of the period at the end
of this sentence. Infected ticks can transmit
Lyme disease, babesiosis, or ehrlichiosis, and
– as they say – “an ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure.” Deer ticks are
commonly found in high-moisture sites, so
exercise caution when walking in woods,
marshy areas, tall grass, and along the
edges of fields and lawns. Walk in the middle
of trails and away from bordering shrubs.

30 • 2016 Official Guide to Nantucket

Wearing light-colored long pants – tucked
into high socks, and a long-sleeved shirt –
can aid you in spotting ticks. Insect repellents
with DEET (diethyltoluamide) will discourage
ticks, and those with permethrin will kill them.
It is important to use these products with
caution.
After visiting a “tick friendly” area, always
check yourself thoroughly, especially behind
the knees and thighs, the back, armpits,
groin and hairline. Normally, it takes
between 24 and 48 hours for an attached
infected tick to pass bacteria to its human
host. Remove an attached tick by grabbing at
the skin’s surface with pointed tweezers.
Avoid squeezing the tick’s body. Clean the
bite site with soap and water, and watch for
symptoms. If you experience fever, an
unexplained rash anywhere on your body,
painful joints, swollen glands, or other flu-like
symptoms, contact your physician
immediately. Tick-borne diseases can be
effectively treated with antibiotics, provided
an early and accurate diagnosis is made.
For additional information, call Nantucket
Cottage Hospital at 508-825-8100 or
the Nantucket Health Department at
508-228-7226.