Mosquitos, Ticks, and the Diseases They Carry

With the mild winter and all this rain, we should be in for a big mosquito and tick season, assuming the weather eventually warms up. This article will discuss some easy things you can do to try and eliminate mosquitoes and tick problems and avoid the diseases these insects can carry.  It also talks about symptoms to watch for, in the event that you may have been exposed.

Avoiding Mosquito Bites

Mosquitoes need standing water to breed. Therefore, to discourage mosquitoes from breeding around your house, you should eliminate any pools of standing water. The following are a few of the steps you can take to do that:

• Empty buckets, cans, and other receptacles where water might collect.
• Cover wading pools, but be sure to periodically drain any water that may collect on pool covers.
• Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, outdoor saunas, and hot tubs. When they are not in use for short periods of time, keep them covered.  If they are no longer in use, they should be drained whenever possible.
• Change the water in bird baths every three or four days.
• Keep roof gutters clear and draining properly.

Female mosquitoes need the proteins that are found in blood to lay eggs. They are experts at finding a source of blood, such as you. They are attracted to 3 things they associate with humans, the carbon dioxide we exhale, the lactic acid we exude from our pores, and clothing that contrasts sharply with the environment.  The best way to discourage mosquitoes from finding you is to dress in clothing that blends with the environment, and use a good bug spray, preferably one that contains DEET, which should ideally be applied to your clothes and not to your skin.

West Nile Virus - a disease carried by mosquitos

This disease has been a hot topic every year for the last 3 years. West Nile Virus is a serious, sometimes deadly and untreatable strain of encephalitis that is carried by mosquitoes. Contracting West Nile Virus from a mosquito bite is extremely rare, but it has increased our level of concern around mosquito bites. The most susceptible to West Nile Virus are adults over 50, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system.

People who contract West Nile Virus experience symptoms 5 to 15 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. These symptoms include:

• Severe headaches
• Fever
• Nausea and vomiting
• Disorientation
• Chills
• Muscle aches, pain, stiffness, or all three

If you should experience any of these symptoms after being bitten by a mosquito, seek medical help right away.

Recognizing Ticks

Ticks are in the same family of insects as mites, spiders and scorpions. The biggest problem with ticks is not so much their bite, as the fact that some ticks are common carriers of Lyme disease, which can be transmitted to humans.

Of the two most common types of ticks found in this area, only the smaller Deer Tick is  a known carrier of Lyme disease. However, other types, such as the American Dog Tick, may carry other diseases. So, generally avoiding ticks is a good idea.

Avoiding Ticks

Ticks can not fly, jump, or hop. They're hitchhikers. They climb up grass blades and wait for a human or an animal to pass by so they can crawl aboard.

In order to help prevent ticks form getting on you or your pet, here are some helpful tips:

• Wear enclosed shoes and light-colored clothing with a tight weave so you can spot ticks easily.
• Stay out of high brush areas. If you have to go into brush or wooded areas, tuck your pants into your socks and spray your clothing with an insect repellant. Then, and as soon as you leave the brush, scan your skin and any exposed skin for ticks.
• Avoid sitting directly on the ground or on stone walls (havens for ticks and their hosts)
• Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening
• Maintain your lawn and areas around your house - Long grass, weeds, wood piles, and stone walls are tick havens.
• Apply a flea and tick repellant to your dog or cat. Pet stores sell repellants that are especially intended to protect animals. (There have been several recent reports of dogs getting Lyme disease in this area.)
• Do a final, full-body tick-check at the end of the day (also check children and pets)

Ticks that contact your clothes will climb upward in search of exposed skin. This means they may climb to hidden areas of the head and neck if not intercepted first; spot-check clothes frequently.

If you DO find a tick attached to your skin, there's no need to panic. Not all ticks are infected, and studies of infected deer ticks have shown that they begin transmitting Lyme disease an average of 36 to 48 hours after attachment. Therefore, your chances of contracting LD are greatly reduced if you remove a tick within the first 24 hours.

Removing Ticks

To remove a tick, follow these steps:

1. Using a pair of  tweezers*, grasp the tick by the head or mouthparts as close to where they enter the skin as you can. This is better than grabbing the tick by the body.  You need to get the whole tick.
   *Ideally, unrasped fine-pointed tweezers whose tips align tightly when pressed together.
   
2. Without jerking, pull firmly and steadily directly outward. DO NOT twist the tick out or apply petroleum jelly, a hot match, alcohol or any other irritant to the tick in an attempt to get it to back out. These methods can backfire and even increase the chances of the tick transmitting the disease.
3. Clean the bite wound with disinfectant.
4. Monitor the site of the bite for the appearance of a rash beginning 3 to 30 days after the bite.

However, if you find a deer tick (the size of a sesame seed) that could have been attached for longer than 24 hours, consult your doctor. The doctor can have the tick tested for Lyme disease. The doctor may also prescribe a first round dose of the antibiotic used to fight Lyme disease. If the tick tests positive for Lyme disease, the doctor may prescribe a full antibiotic treatment. The majority of early Lyme disease cases are easily treated and cured.

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a serious disorder transmitted by ticks to humans. It is a microscopic bacterium that is passed from the deer ticks and western black-legged ticks to humans. A tick has to remain attached to your skin for an average of 36 to 48 hours to pass the Lyme disease pathogen to the human host. The symptoms of Lyme disease include:

Lyme disease is sometimes confused with influenza, infectious mononucleosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

More Information

For more information on Lyme Disease, see:

• http://www.aldf.com/ (American Lyme Disease)
• http://www.state.ma.us/dph (MA Dept of Public Health)
• http://www.cdc.gov/ (Center for Disease Control)
• http://www.tickinfo.com/ (Tick information & products)