Tick season is once again upon us in Saskatchewan and residents are being reminded to take precautions to decrease the risk of tick bites.
The concern with ticks in the province and the reason for tick surveillance is to look for black-legged ticks which are the species known to carry bacteria that causes Lyme disease in humans.
Dr. Julie Kryzanowski, Deputy Chief Medical Health Officer with the Ministry of Health provides some helpful preventative measures residents can take.
"Use an insect repellent that contains DEET, that will repel ticks along with mosquitos and other biting insects. If you are out in an area, especially with long grass or trees and wooded areas which is good habitat for ticks, we are asking that you do wear light coloured clothing because ticks will show up better on light colours."
Other preventative measures include wearing long pants and tucking pant legs into socks to prevent ticks from climbing up and doing a tick check after having been outdoors.
Most ticks found in Saskatchewan are the American dog tick. This species is active from mid-April to the end of July and cannot transmit Lyme disease to people.
Dr. Kryzanowski adds that what is known about ticks in the province from the tick surveillance program is that they do not have evidence that ticks are established and reproducing. There is a risk because ticks can be carried by migrating birds, so the province does have sporadic black-legged ticks identified most years in various parts of the province.
Dr. Kryzanowski says that if a tick is found residents should remove it as soon as possible and then do the following.
"So we are asking people to take a photo of the tick and send it into the eTick online system for species identification. If it is a black-legged tick you will be invited to mail the actual tick in for testing for Lyme disease bacteria."
The process of removing a tick should be done with the use of tweezers and grabbing the head of the tick while trying to avoid crushing the head as that will prevent the tick from releasing secretions that may be infected.
Saskatchewanians can submit photographs of ticks found on humans or animals using the eTick online system to receive timely identification of the type of tick that attached to a person, pet, or livestock animal and information on the risk of exposure to tick-borne diseases. Ticks can be kept in a secure container until you receive the identification results. Ticks can be euthanized by placing them in a bag and storing it in the freezer 24 hours.