Tick Bites Can Make You Sick - Pest Control OKC

Five Ways a Tick Bite Can Make You Sick and What to Do

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Don’t Let a Tick Bite Make You Ill

Ticks are notorious for being hard to spot until they’re well established, and tick bites can make you sick. Are you aware of all the risks ticks can carry? More importantly, are you doing all you can to prevent yourself, your loved ones, and your pets from exposure to ticks?

What Are the Health Risks?

The most well-known tick borne disease is Lyme disease, with over 30,000 cases per year. The bacteria that cause this disease spread after a tick bites, and can cause a rash, headache, and fever, and eventually lead to arthritis as well as neurological and cardiac disorders. However, North American ticks spread at least eleven other diseases, including:

  • Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
  • Tularemia
  • Q fever
  • Ehrlichiosis

Several of these diseases can turn deadly, and not all are detectable on the skin or by other symptoms until the infection is advanced.

How Can You Prevent Tick Bites?

The best way to prevent tick bites is by staying away from areas commonly known to host ticks, such as areas of tall grass. Alternatively:

  • Cover yourself. Wear clothing that covers the arms and legs and presents a barrier to any ticks.
  • Use a repellent. Look for a repellent marked to repel ticks. However, ticks may be able to walk over areas of skin sprayed with repellent, so consider clothing treated with permethrin, a tick repellant substance.
  • Stay away from shade. Ticks don’t adapt well to direct sunlight, meaning they tend to stay in shaded areas.
  • Wear light colored clothing. Lighter colored clothing makes it easier to spot any ticks that may have caught a ride from your hike to your home.
  • Check your pets. You should check your pets for ticks after every walk – particularly those in grass or a wooded area. In addition, regularly use tick prevention for your pets.

Once you get home, do a thorough check for ticks, including any small red bumps that could indicate a tick bite. If you find a tick, remove it immediately with tweezers, being careful to keep the tick intact.

Reach out to The Bug Guy if you have questions regarding ticks, or with any questions about pest control in OKC or spider control in OKC.

Sources:

https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/spring17/articles/spring17pg25-27.html

https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/index.html

https://www.livescience.com/46160-how-to-avoid-tick-bites.html

American Dog Tick- OKC Pest Control

OKC Pest Control Talks About The American Dog Tick

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OKC Pest Control Shares Information About This Common Tick

As we mentioned in our blog article, last week, the threats of ticks are all too real. Of course, that story was just about Lyme disease and the one type of tick known for transmitting that disease. It’s important to know that many other types of ticks exist as well as the various types of diseases that can be transmitted. Today, our OKC pest control professionals felt it would be wise to share a little bit about one of the most commonly seen ticks known as the American dog tick.

Imagine that you were lying in bed fast asleep and suddenly you felt a little tickle moving up your arm. That awkward feeling alone might startle you enough, but seeing a tick crawling on you can certainly hinder your sleep thereafter. Our OKC pest control team understands the struggle as this is the experience many pet owners have had while sleeping next to their beloved dog campions.

Catching the American dog tick before it bites is, perhaps, one of the luckiest situations as this type of tick is known to carry Tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Most people exposed to Tularemia who show signs of the illness will do so within 3-5 days, but some have reported that it takes up to 14 days. While there are several types of tularemia, depending on how it was contracted, the most common type and its symptoms include:

Type Of Tularemia: Ulceroglandular tularemia

Symptoms: 

  • A skin ulcer that forms at the site of infection
  • Swollen and painful lymph glands
  • Fever
  • Chills
  • Headache
  • Exhaustion

Our OKC pest control team recommends that you see your doctor immediately if you feel you have this disease as most cases can be cured with prompt care.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever also usually shows up within 14 days. It is a bacterial infection that can cause serious damage to internal organs, such as your kidneys and heart if it is not promptly treated.

The common symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever are: 

  • Severe headache
  • High fever
  • Chills
  • Muscle aches
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Restlessness and insomnia
  • A rash on the wrists and ankles (usually after a few days)

Again, it is important to visit the doctor as soon as possible if you experience any of these signs after a tick bite.

The best thing to do to protect yourself, your pets, and others from the American dog tick is utilize prevention. OKC pest control is one of the best prevention methods to keeping your yard pest free. To get started with your OKC pest control treatment plan please contact The Bug Guy at 405-973-5522.

Ticks- OKC Pest Control

OKC Pest Control Reviews A Story About Ticks And Lyme Disease

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OKC Pest Control Sharing A True Tale About A Tick Bite

Normally, when you think about the presence of ticks in your yard it’s already well into the summer, but as you already know our temperatures in Oklahoma have been warmer than normal this spring. This is why our OKC Pest Control team thought it would be important to inform our readers about ticks making their way out sooner than they usually do.

A lot of people don’t ever think that a tick bite will really do anything to them, but the warning of Lyme disease couldn’t be more real. Last summer there was a story shared online by several sources about an Oklahoma woman named Alyssa Layman who is now battling Lyme disease due to a tick bite. One interview of the story was published by News Channel 4, but our OKC pest control team wanted to share it here as a reminder that caution is needed with warmer days ahead.

The Alyssa Layman Story:

Alyssa Layman’s life was changed one June summer day in 2012 when she decided to go fishing in Arkansas. She was bitten by a tick (most likely to be spread via the blacklegged tick, or deer tick)* and she didn’t think anything more about it at that time. By the month of September she was in enough pain that she had to go to the emergency room. She stated she “had mood swings, started running a fever, had extreme pain.”

The interview with News Channel 4 was published in June of 2016 and it was explained how Layman, 4 years after her bite, still has to rely on her family members to help her do almost everything. She receives help from her mother to wash her hair, do the dishes, and help her cook, because she simply cannot do these things on her own. Her sister takes her to her doctor appointments and Layman also receives help from a service dog.

Layman hoped that by sharing her story about her battle with Lyme disease due to a tick bite that others would take caution. She also stated that “if you get a rash of any kind around a bug bite, definitely go in, get tested.”

Our Comments:

At the end of the original article, there was a comment about how Lyme disease is usually not a problem in Oklahoma, but officials say it is becoming more prevalent. Other resources suspect that a lot of people traveling to other parts of the country may be bringing back infected ticks to Oklahoma.

We wouldn’t want anyone to take any chances! Our OKC pest control team would be happy to help eliminate ticks from your yard to keep you, your family members, and even your pets safe.

To get in touch with our OKC pest control company, give The Bug Guy a call at 405-973-5522.

*Resource: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/