Tick Safety
Tick Fact Sheet
Ticks come in two different sizes, the small deer tick and the larger dog tick. Tick bites are painless, therefore they may go unnoticed for several hours or even days. An infected deer tick may transmit Lyme disease and an infected dog tick may transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Ticks may be carriers of other diseases as well.
How to Prevent Ticks & Tick Bites in Children
To prevent tick bites, use these precautions when you are outdoors:
- Wear light colored clothing (to spot the ticks easily), long sleeved shirts and long pants.
- Create a “tick barrier” by tucking pants into socks and shirt into pants.
- Avoid long grasses and shrubby areas
- Keep long hair pulled back, pulled up, and/or in a cap when outdoors
- Check child’s body and scalp for possible ticks
- Shower and wash hair after playing in woodlands
- Wash all clothes after playing in woodlands
- The AAP suggests insect repellent with 10% to 30% DEET for children older than 2 months of age
- DEET should not be used on children younger than 2 months
- An alternative to DEET is picaridin, which is available in concentrations of 5% to 10%
- The age requirements/product concentration in repellents vary; read the label of any product you purchase
- Children should wash off repellents when they return indoors<
- Check pets for ticks after they’ve been outside
- Use a tick-repelling collar or medicine for your pet
How should a tick be removed?
- It is important that a tick is removed as soon as it is discovered using tweezers. Grasp the tick mouth parts as close to the skin as possible and pull the tick out with steady pressure. Do not yank the tick out. Do not crush the ticks body with the tweezers as it may contain infectious fluids.
- Do not use petroleum jelly, hot matches, nail polish remover, or any other substance to remove a tick. By using these substances, you may actually increase your chance of infection.
- Thoroughly wash the area of the bite with soap and water and put an antiseptic on it.
- Wash your hands with soap and water, immediately following tick removal.
- The sooner the tick is removed, the lesser the risk of tick-borne infection.
- Write on the calendar the date you removed the tick and the part of the body it was removed from. Check this area daily for 30 days.
- Contact your physician for recommendations on testing and treatment.
For more information, check out the www.ct.gov public health webpages:
Lyme Disease – Fact Sheet: A webpage by the CT Department of Public Health.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) – Fact Sheet: A webpage by the CT Department of Public Health.
This fact sheet is for informational purposes only. It should not be used for self-diagnosis or as a substitute for consultation with a health care provider. If you have questions about the information described above, feel free to contact us.