Ticks and Lyme Disease
Protect Yourself
In tick-infested areas, your best protection is to avoid contact with soil, leaf litter and vegetation. However, if you hike, camp, hunt, work or otherwise spend time in the outdoors, you can still protect yourself:
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Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.
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Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots, and shirt into pants.
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Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors.
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Consider using insect repellent on your clothing.
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Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails. Walk in the center of trails. Avoid dense woods and bushy areas.
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Keep long hair tied back.
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Bathe or shower as soon as possible after going indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.
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Do a final, full-body tick check at the end of the day (also check children and pets), and remove ticks promptly.
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Follow your vet's suggestion for regular flea and tick prevention treatment.
For more information on ticks: https://www.dec.ny.gov/public/111538.html
Lyme Disease Support Group: https://stlyme.org/