COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the weather gets warmer, more bugs come out, many of which may carry diseases.
The Ohio Department of Health is encouraging Ohioans to take the necessary precautions to prevent tick and mosquito bites this summer.
Last year, the health department reported seven West Nile virus cases, including one death, and 13 La Cross virus cases within Ohio. Most of those who are infected do not have symptoms or only show mild symptoms like a fever, headache, nausea and vomiting.
“Of course, we want Ohioans to enjoy the outdoors in the summer months as part of an active, healthy lifestyle, but you should be thinking about protection against ticks and mosquitoes,” said ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff. “Taking simple precautions can prevent potentially serious diseases.”
Below are a few tips provided by ODH on how you can avoid bug bites:
For mosquito bites…
- Use EPA-registered repellents when going outdoors according to label instructions.
- Wear light-colored clothing, long sleeves, long pants, and socks when outdoors.
- Consider avoiding outdoor activities during peak mosquito biting hours (dusk to dawn).
- Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with an EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection.
- Help reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home by emptying standing water on a regular basis from flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers, pet water dishes, discarded tires, and bird baths.
For tick bites…
- Avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter.
- Walk in the center of trails.
- Use insect repellents registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) labeled for use against ticks on exposed skin for protection that lasts several hours. Always follow the product label.
- Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and tuck shirts into pants to keep ticks on the outside of your clothing.
- Light-colored clothing will help you spot ticks more easily.
For easy tick removal, use fine-tipped tweezers to grab the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible. Then, pull away from your skin with even, steady pressure and wash your hands and the affected area.
ODH recommends watching for symptoms such as fever/chills, aches and pains or rash if you’ve had a tick attached to your skin. Find more information on prevention and safety here.
