How to keep yourself safe during tick season

WHITFIELD COUNTY, Georgia (WDEF) – These warming temperatures and upcoming summer vacations are leading to more people being outside.

At the same time, ticks are becoming more active.

“A tip on not getting bit by ticks when walking through this stuff or the woods is wearing a long sleeve shirt, long pants tucked into socks. Even wearing a hat but in temperatures like this it’s already getting hot so we have some other safety tips for you,” said News 12’s Brian Armstrong

“Repellent, repellent, repellent. Everybody should be carrying repellent especially for children DEET is the chosen repellent and it’s safe for children down to six months old,” said District director of Environmental health Raymond King.

King said there are primary two tick-transmitted diseases to worry about.

“I’ll start with the disease I had years ago from tick exposure and that’s Rocky Mountain spotted fever. That’s the most common disease people get from tick bites and it is rough and it’s fatal in about half the cases if you don’t get antibiotic treatment. The southeast is lucky and that we really don’t Have many lime cases. No one is exactly sure why that is,” said King.

King recommends checking after every time you are outside in the woods.

“The good news is a tick almost always has to say attach for several hours in order to transmit the disease. If you know you had to exposure whether you got the check off soon or not and you suddenly come down with a raging fever or severe headache or anything like that I need to get to the doctor ASAP,” said King.

If you get bit by a tick, King recommends using a pair of tweezers, pulling as close to the skin, and pulling straight out.