Lyme disease is caused by bacteria that is spread to humans by tick bites. The ticks that carry the spirochete are the Black-legged deer tick (northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and North-Central U.S.) and the Western black-legged tick (Pacific coastal U.S.) Ticks prefer to live in wooded areas, low-growing grasslands, and yards. Not all ticks carry the Lyme disease bacteria. Depending on the location, anywhere from less than 1% to more than 50% of the ticks are infected with it.
Black-legged deer tick populations have increased drastically in Coshocton County. Lyme’s Disease has been on the rise in recent years. As you can see from the data, rates climb during the months of May, June, July, and come back down in August. Ticks including the Black-legged deer tick is active during early/late spring. Young children account for nearly 40% of the cases from January 2022 to August 2023. This may be due to children playing outside and unaware or uneducated about checking for ticks after going back inside.
When you participate in outdoor activities dress appropriately by wearing:
• Light-colored clothing
• Long-sleeved shirts
• Socks and closed-toe shoes
• Long pants with legs tucked into socks
Look for ticks often when participating in outdoor activities:
• All joints: behind the knees, between fingers and toes, and on underarms
• Other areas where ticks are commonly found: belly button, neck, hairline, top of the head, and in and behind the ears
• Areas of pressure points, including anywhere that clothing presses tightly on the skin. Visually check all other areas of the body, and run fingers gently over skin.
Wear Protective clothing/repellent. Products that contain DEET like OFF repels ticks, but they don’t kill them. These products aren’t 100% effective in keeping a tick from feeding on you. Products that have permethrin do kill and also repel ticks. But they should be sprayed only on clothing, not on your skin. Use 0.5% permethrin to treat clothing and gear (such as boots, pants, socks, and tents) or buy permethrin-treated clothing and gear.
