Ticks
HELPFUL LINKS AND INFORMATION |
---|
What To Do |
Ticks & Lyme Disease (WDG Public Health) |
Public Health Ontario’s most up-to-date map of High-Risk areas |
Learn about Blacklegged Tick Habitat (TickEncounter, University of Rhode Island) |
Lyme Disease (Gov of Canada) |
eTick.ca - Image-based identification and population monitoring of ticks in Canada |
Despite this map, because Blacklegged Ticks are frequently transported by migratory birds, they can be found anywhere in the province of Ontario.
Public Health recommends the following:
- Be vigilant … learn about the kinds of habitat that different ticks prefer so these areas can be avoided (Blacklegged ticks are typically found in mixed hardwood forest areas that are also home to small mammals such as mice, squirrels, chipmunks, etc.)
- Conduct “tick checks” whenever you, family members, pets, etc. have spent time in the kind of habitat that ticks prefer (checking each other out, especially those places we can’t see on our own like the back areas of the body, including the head)
- Learn about the symptoms of Lyme disease … ticks are able to bite without being noticed and many people who acquire the disease have no recollection of any tick encounters, but being aware of the symptoms that Lyme causes can be instrumental in preventing further progress of the disease
- Learn about the seasonal activity of Blacklegged ticks … they are not all killed off by winter, adults have two “peak seasons” in spring and then autumn, and the nymphs which are quite a lot smaller than the adults are most active during the warmer parts of the summertime when people are more active outdoors and wearing less clothing. Nymphs require less time feeding to transit the bacteria, and are small enough to usually go unnoticed
The only way to prevent ticks from biting is through repellency and avoidance of favourable habitat.
If you would like to have the infection status of the tick, it can be submitted to a private lab for testing.
Two private laboratories that will test Blacklegged ticks for Borrelia burgdorferi are:
Dogs can acquire the bacteria and develop Lyme disease, but symptoms occur in less than 5% of cases according to past and current research and literature. If you have concerns about Lyme disease in dogs, discuss with your veterinarian.