The best way to avoid Lyme disease and tick-borne illnesses is to avoid contact with ticks and other biting insects that can carry the diseases. Further, it is a good idea to avoid animals that are known to carry them as well as the environments where ticks & biting insects thrive. Tick-borne illnesses are NOT just found in New England or the Northeast part of the United States.

It is also important to know that deer ticks or lone star ticks are not the only types of ticks that can carry disease. Almost all forms of biting insects are capable of carrying diseases including fleas, bedbugs, spiders, horse flies, mosquitos, no-seeums, chiggers, kissing bugs, assassin bugs or any other variety of bug or insect that draws blood from its prey and ingests it. Click here for more bug and insect varieties that bite >>>

To date, Lyme disease and the ticks that carry the illnesses have been reported in every state in the U.S. as well as many countries all over the world.

Common misconceptions about exposure to Lyme Disease:

  • Lyme Disease is not just found in New England or the eastern part of the U.S. To date, all 50 states have reported cases of Lyme Disease and at least 65 countries around with world have reported infections.
  • The Deer Tick or Lone Star Tick are NOT the only types of bugs or insects that carry Lyme Disease. As mentioned above, ANY type of biting insect or bug that draws and ingests blood from its prey is capable of carrying Lyme Disease and other illnesses.
  • A tick or other biting insect does NOT have to be latched onto its prey for at least 36 hours to pass the illness. It has been proven that a tick, mosquito or other biting bug can pass disease onto its prey within minutes of biting.
  • Once infected, a patient needs 4-6 weeks of doxycylcine or similar antibiotics within the first 60 days of infection to effectively stop the illness from becoming chronic.
  • Only 20-30% of newly-infected patients display the “bulls-eye” rash.  The majority of patients do not realize they have been bitten and instead begin to notice a range of non-specific symptoms.

Here are some ways to avoid being bitten by ticks and other biting insects & bugs:

  • Avoid areas of tall grass or places with leaf litter. These are environments where ticks thrive throughout most of the year.
  • If you cannot avoid the above, wear white or light-colored clothing to easily spot ticks that might be on your body.
  • Use a non-toxic tick or insect repellent prior to hiking in wooded areas.
  • Do a tick check on yourself, your loved ones and pets after walking through possible tick-prone areas.
  • If you suspect ticks may be on your clothes, put them in the clothes dryer with the setting on “high heat” for 15-20 mins. This has been proven to kill most species of ticks.
  • Do a tick check on your pets every time they come in from the outdoors and try to avoid sleeping with them if you haven’t done a check prior.

Be mindful of close contact with warm-blooded mammals who have been know to contract and carry Lyme disease:

  • Dogs
  • Horses
  • Cattle
  • White-tailed deer
  • Mice (especially the white-footed mouse in North America)
  • Chipmunks
  • Gray squirrels
  • Opossums (although opossums are known to actually feed on all variety of ticks)
  • Raccoons

Note: It is uncommon for cats to contract Lyme disease, possibly due to their high body temperature which is not a hospitable environment for Lyme bacteria, but they do carry ticks that could possibly have been infected by other animals.

If you find a tick embedded in your skin, please DO NOT use nail polish, petroleum jelly,
alcohol or heat to remove the tick. Using these methods can put the tick into shock, causing it to regurgitate pathogens directly into the bloodstream.

To safely remove a tick, please do the following:

    • Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to its head and the skin’s surface as possible.
    • Pull straight upward without twisting or picking at the tick. Twisting can cause the tick’s head and mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove them with tweezers.
    • After removing the tick, avoid any contact with blood or fluids coming from the tick. Thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water. Adding a drop or two of clove oil (oil of clove essential oils) directly on the bite area can help eradicate infection.
    • Dispose of a live tick by placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet. Never crush a tick with your fingers to avoid any possible contact with pathogens.

The following is a partial list of independent laboratories that do tick testing. Most offer mail-based service if you are not local.

TickReport
www.tickreport.com
Telephone: (413)545-1057

Ticknology
www.ticknology.org
Telephone: (970)305-5587

TickCheck
www.tickcheck.com
Telephone:  (866)713-TICK

IGeneX
www.igenex.com/tick-borne-disease-testing/
Telephone:  (800)832-3200