Health officials warn of tick danger with warm weather

Bartholomew County health officials want you to be aware of the increasing levels of ticks that come with the warmer weather.

According to the Environmental Health Division of the Bartholomew County Health Department, ticks are responsible for about 75 percent of all arboviral disease transmissions including Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

If you are entering an area where ticks might be present, you should wear light colored clothing, long pants and long sleeves. The light colored clothing makes ticks easier to see and you can tuck your pant legs into your socks to keep ticks from crawling up your leg.

You should use a chemical tick repellent. And you should check yourself carefully when you leave the possibly tick-infested area.

If you have any questions you can call the Environmental Health Division at 812-379-1550 and hit option 2.

Photo of American Dog Tick courtesy of Center for Disease Control and Prevention, James Gathany via Purdue University Extension.

For more information: https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publichealth/insects/tick.html