Had My First Tick On Me; Here Are The Tips I’ve Learned

The past couple of days you probably have been spending outside in Western New York, especially with the holiday and heat wave in place. Have you noticed more ticks than usual? There's a reason you're going to see more ticks than usual this year.

I found a tick for the first time ever on my body over the weekend. We live in a backyard that's pretty wooded and doesn't drain water in the backyard well, so the environment is pretty ideal for ticks and I found it on the back on ym shoulder blade. At first, I thought maybe it was a pimple so I kept squeezing it, but then changed my mind and thought maybe it was a mole or a random new skin tag or something. Of course, I couldn't see it because it was on my back, but we ended up realizing it was a tick. We got it out with tweezers and sent it off to be tested.

It's kind of an uneasy feeling now knowing if it was carrying Lyme Disease or anything else, but experts say that there are going to be a rise in the ticks you see this summer. The reason? Apparently, a mild winter means more ticks.

If you find one on your body, it's important to know (to keep your mind at ease) they do not all carry Lyme disease and don't need to 'feed' for a certain amount of time on you. Nonetheless, you should remove the tick immediately. Here are some tips from WKBW on how to prevent ticks before they even happen:

1. Use an insect repellent with DEET
2. Place socks over pants and wear long-sleeved shirts to block ticks from getting near your skin
3. Wear light-colored clothing to make ticks easier to spot
4. Do a body check when you get back indoors

There is a local group that Lyme disease WNY uses that also collects ticks for the data and research to continue knowledge on ticks and how to help others. You can get more info here.

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