So far this has been the worst beginning to summer for insects that I can remember. The black flies and mosquitoes have been terrible and now add the ticks that so many people are removing from their pets and themselves.

The most known species of ticks in the Northwoods are WOOD TICKS and DEER TICKS. The good news is, WOOD TICKS or sometimes call American dog tick DO NOT carry Lyme disease. The bad news is, WOOD TICKS can carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but this tick is considered exceedingly rare in Wisconsin.

Another tick that can carry a disease is the DEER TICK. This species of ticks can spread LYME DISEASE and the POWASSAN VIRUS. It should be known that not all deer ticks are infected with the bacteria causing Lyme disease from feeding on mostly birds. One study showed that only 20 to 25 % of deer ticks are infected.

The POWASSAN VIRUS can also be spread by deer ticks, but again, this is extremely rare in the Wisconsin. The reported cases of the Powassan virus are more common in the northern part of our state because we have a higher number of deer ticks in the Northwoods. Good news is, I’ve read that there has been NO cases reported in VILAS COUNTY.

Contrary to what some believe, ticks DO NOT fly, jump or drop from above onto their victims, but wait for a person or animal to brush against grass or whatever they are attached to and crawl on to their victim. I would think most people know that ticks are prevalent from April to September, but how many are aware that peak season for ticks is October and even into November. Ticks can survive a hard freeze and are most active after the first frost.

For those of us living and or folks vacationing in the Northwoods, the best way to prevent ticks is to keep away from wooded, high grass or any vegetation areas and/or wear light color long pants, tuck your light color shirt in and apply repellent that has at least 20 % of DEET. Then before you go into your house/cottage, check for dark spots on your light color clothes.

There is a product called PERMETHRIN that can be applied to your clothes but (and I can’t stress this enough) NEVER put this on your skin. For the people that do not like to use the Northwoods perfume/cologne (DEET), there is natural alternatives. Herbs like lemongrass, cedarwood and clove can help to repel ticks.

One study said ticks can crawl around on you or an animal for up to 4 hours before feeding on blood, so please check yourself and pets after walking in the woods or high grass. If you do find a tick on yourself or pet, remove it by grasping it as close to the skin as possible and pull straight out with tweezers, DO NOT, TWIST OR TRY TO JERK the tick off. Then clean the area with rubbing alcohol and place the tick on a piece of tape and put it into a plastic bag and throw it in the garbage.