Getting Rid Of Ticks

West Nile, Lyme disease found outside region

WATERLOO REGION — With two human cases of Lyme disease and prime West Nile season just ahead, local public health officials are warning residents to step up the fight against insects that can make you sick.

While no West Nile-positive mosquito pools have been found so far within Waterloo Region, the virus has been discovered as close as Halton Region and Toronto this summer, said Dave Young, director of health protection and investigations for the Region of Waterloo public health unit.

Hot weather like the kind that has settled over Ontario for most of the summer can speed up the life cycle of mosquitoes, meaning the insects can produce more generations — resulting in more offspring — than in a cold period, he said.

We’re only a few weeks away from prime season for the mosquito variety that carries the West Nile virus, so officials are warning residents to get out the repellent and get rid of standing water in their yards.

“They generally come on a little later in the season. mid-August into September is when chances are best (that) humans will get West Nile,” Young said. “You should assume any mosquito out there could be carrying West Nile virus, so take precautions.”

There have also been two confirmed human cases of Lyme disease here so far this season — although both people are believed to have been infected while travelling outside the region.

One patient was likely infected while in the northeastern U.S.; the other while in the Mount Forest area, Young said. In both cases, the disease was detected early enough that it could be treated with antibiotics, he said.

Lyme disease is spread through a tick bite, something that can be avoided with simple things such as bug spray, long sleeves and pants. While the black-legged ticks that spread the disease are concentrated in areas along Lake Erie’s northern shore, including popular parks like Point Pelee, Rondeau and Turkey Point, Waterloo Region isn’t considered a high-risk area.

Still — and just in time for the long weekend — public health officials are warning people to avoid long grasses and overgrown brush. Ticks, which can’t jump or fly, generally prefer shade to sun, and can often be kept at bay with something as simple as a wood chip boundary around your property, Young said.

If you do find a tick on your body, remove it with tweezers and give it to public health for testing. Ticks generally need to stay attached to the body for 24 hours to transmit the disease.

Common Tools For Removing Ticks In Dogs

Ticks can bring about serious health problems for dogs, including humans. They are second to mosquitoes in transmitting communicable diseases. To know if your dog is infected by ticks, following are the signs and symptoms to lookout for: discomfort, tenderness, local infection, hypersensitivity, fever, lameness, loss of craving, sharp pain in legs or body, arthritis, depression or lethargy, cough, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis.

Ticks are very challenging to detect particularly when they are still very small or in larval and nymphal stage and the dog’s fur are thick and long, that is why some pet owners prefer to frequently cut their dog’s hair short or shave them for easy tick detection. Wear gloves when searching for ticks. Rub your hands against the dog’s fur and feel for bumps. At random check the areas for ticks.

Removing Ticks – Common Practice

To get rid of ticks, spray alcohol or pour one to two drops of mineral oil at the tick. It will immobilize the tick in seconds. It also loosens the tick’s hold to the dog’s skin. Locate the head of the tick, and grip the head as close to its mouth as possible. Apply gently pressure. Slowly pull the tick away from the skin. Do not grapple it at its body and avoid yanking or twisting the tick, or else its head may be divided from its body, leaving its pinchers behind. Never crush the tick. Crushing the tick can spread more bacteria, or worse, it can cause the blood of the tick to get into the dog’s stab. If the head or any part of it remains in the dog’s skin, evict them cautiously. Although the immune system of the dog can generally get rid of these remainders, an infection or swelling may occur, so it is best to contact your veterinarian if uncertain.

As soon as you removed the tick, drop it in a mineral oil or alcohol until it is dead, and then dispose it in a trash bin. To prevent transfer of infection, wipe the mineral oil in the dog’s fur and then disinfect the area with alcohol.

Effective Tools For Tick Removal

By no means pull out the tick directly with your bare hands. Doing so can transfer bacteria from the tick to your nails. Although removing dog’s tick may not be as simple as you think, there are supplementary strategies to readily get rid of ticks by using different tools such as curved hemostats, tick spoon, tick slider, tick nipper, tick noose, and tick forceps. Curved thermostats are popularly used by physicians or veterinarians. Tick spoon on the other hand, is an impressively well-crafted little plastic spoon with a notch at the end. Tick spoon is used by sliding the notch under the tick before levering it off. The tick slider is quite similar to the tick spoon. Ingenuously, slide the instrument under the tick before lifting it off. Tick nipper is a little plastic instrument with a curved jaw, which enables you to grasp the tick by its head before lifting it off. Tick forceps is just like an instrument used by ophthalmologists. Its fine tipped end makes it possible to easily grapple the head of the tick. Remember not to use sharp tweezers because you can carelessly poke holes in your dog’s skin.

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