May Is Lyme Disease Awareness Month

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and to recognize that, we wanted to discuss why this disease can cause a problem for you, your family, and your pets and how you can avoid contracting Lyme disease this spring and summer. 

Lyme disease can be a serious disease with symptoms that include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash.  When Lyme disease is left untreated, the infection can spread to joints, the nervous system, and the heart. Sometimes there are no symptoms at all, especially early on, but later symptoms can develop, including difficulty sleeping, mood swings, hormone irregularities, and joint pain, and these symptoms can be severe.  

The reason we’re recognizing Lyme Disease Awareness month is that deer ticks, pests that are prevalent in our service area, are often the cause of this debilitating disease.  Lyme disease is actually the most common tick-transmitted disease in the world and is most often spread by black-legged ticks, AKA deer ticks.  If you have ticks on your property, it’s very possible you or a family member will find a tick embedded in your skin after spending time outdoors. Action Pest Control offers tick prevention tips that include: 

• Using DEET repellents when outdoors- apply to your skin if it’s a low concentration of DEET, or apply to clothing if it’s a high concentration of DEET repellent.
• Wear closed-toe shoes, tuck your pants into your socks, and keep your arms and legs covered.  Light-colored clothing is the best option as you are more likely to see ticks as opposed to darker colors.
• Walk in the center of a trail and try to avoid brushing against branches and other vegetation.
• Keep long hair pulled back or pinned up.
• Try not to sit directly on the ground while outdoors; try to make sure there is a layer between you and the earth to prevent ticks from crawling on you.
• Keep your pets protected with tick-prevention products.
• Keep on the lookout for ticks, and always be aware that these little blood suckers are outside, looking for their next blood meal!
• Do a full body check after the end of the day outdoors to inspect for ticks in your skin or that of your children. Also, check pets daily when they’ve spent time outdoors. 

Following all of these prevention tips can help lessen the possibility that you bring a tick home after your next outing. If you are concerned with ticks on your property, you can contact the professionals at Action Pest Control. Providing pest control in Indianapolis and Terre Haute as well as throughout Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. Please contact us for more information on our home pest control services for your property.