The CSGA Links Volume 5 Issue 3 July, 2017 | Page 45

Protect your property 3 Steps to Avoid Lyme Disease • Eliminate leaf litter and overgrown vegetation that may provide habitat for ticks • Remove piles of wood or brush that may be inhabited by small mammals that serve as a food source for tick larvae and nymphs • Hire a licensed professional to apply an insecticide to the perimeter of your property to control tick populations Protect your pets • Use tick repelling collars or flea and tick control products on your pets • Brush and bathe pets regularly to help detect ticks before they enter your home Protect your person • • • • • Wear light colored clothing to make it easier to see ticks before they attach to your skin Tuck your pants into your socks when hiking in woods or grasslands Use an insect repellant that will repel ticks and other nuisance insects Treat your shoes and clothes with an insect repellant that contains permethrin After spending ti me outdoors, kill hidden ticks by placing your clothes in the drier for at least 20 minutes before washing them • Perform a thorough tick check before getting into the shower Ticks and Lyme Disease How to prevent tick bites when golfing Ticks can spread disease, including Lyme disease. Protect yourself: • Use insect repellent that contains 20 - 30% DEET. • Wear clothing that has been treated with permethrin. • Take a shower as soon as you can after coming indoors. • Look for ticks on your body. Ticks can hide under the armpits, behind the knees, in the hair, and in the groin. • Put your clothes in the dryer on high heat for 60 minutes to kill any remaining ticks. How to remove a tick 1. If a tick is attached to you, use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick at the surface of your skin. 2. Pull the tick straight up and out. Don’t twist or jerk the tick—this can cause the mouth parts to break off and stay in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth parts with tweezers if you can. If not, leave them alone and let your skin heal. 3. Clean the bite and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water. For more information about Lyme disease, visit http://www.cdc.gov/Lyme 4. You may get a small bump or redness that goes away in 1-2 days, like a mosquito bite. This is not a sign that you have Lyme disease. Note: Do not put hot mat ches, nail polish, or petroleum jelly on the tick to try to make it pull away from your skin.