The Peru Gazette

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “When spending time outside, it’s important to take precautions to protect against diseases that can be transmitted by ticks or mosquitoes. New Yorkers should remember that it only takes one bite from a tick or a mosquito to potentially cause illness. Stay healthy and keep pests away this fourth of July weekend by following simple methods to avoid being bitten.”

New Yorkers and holiday visitors should continue to take measures to protect themselves, their children, and their pets against all tick and mosquito-borne diseases that are present in New York State.

While hiking, working or spending time outdoors, follow these simple steps to help prevent tick bites:

• Wear light-colored long pants, long-sleeved shirts and closed-toed shoes.
• Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening.
• Check for ticks often while outdoors and brush them away before they attach.
• Perform a full body check multiple times during the day, as well as at the end of the day, to ensure that no ticks are attached.
• Tumble clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing after you come indoors.
• Shower soon after coming indoors.
• Remember to check pets thoroughly for ticks after spending time outdoors and talk to your veterinarian about ways to reduce ticks on your pet.
• Consider using EPA-registered repellents labelled as effective against ticks containing 40 percent DEET, 20 percent picaridin or IR3535, and follow label instructions. If you are using sunscreen, apply sunscreen first and insect repellent second.
• Consider wearing clothing treated with permethrin. Permethrin is an insecticide that kills and repels ticks. While it should not be applied directly to skin, permethrin-treated clothing provides protection through multiple washings.

If you find an attached tick, use fine-tipped tweezers to remove it right away. Avoid risky removal strategies such as detergent or burning, as these could increase your risk of infection. See the Department of Health’s website for a video on proper tick removal technique.

For mosquitoes:

• Cover your skin as completely as possible when outside at sunrise, sunset, and early in the evening when mosquitoes are most active.
• Wear long sleeves, pants and socks.
• Use EPA-registered insect repellent on exposed skin and follow label instructions. If you are using sunscreen, apply sunscreen first and insect repellent second.
• Consider wearing clothing treated with permethrin. Permethrin is an insecticide that kills and repels mosquitoes. While it should not be applied directly to skin, permethrin-treated clothing provides protection through multiple washings.
• Cover strollers and baby carriers with mosquito netting.

The Department of Health and its partners routinely collect and analyze tens of thousands of ticks from across New York State each year to better understand the tick population, tick behavior, and regional trends in diseases carried by ticks. Current and retrospective tick collection and testing results are publicly available on the Department’s Health Data NY website. A map showing your risk of encountering an infected blacklegged tick by New York geographic region can be found here.

For more information about Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, visit https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/lyme/.

For information about how to reduce mosquitoes around your property and mosquito-borne diseases, visit https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/mosquitoes/.