Ticks everywhere!

Spring is the time for bulbs blossoming, rain storms and TICKS!  Ticks love the wet moisture that is associated with the early spring time.  To dispel some myths, ticks do NOT float with the wind, live in trees, jump or fly.  If you see one of these characteristics, it is not a tick.  Ticks are found in high grasses.  (see photo)There are two types of ticks, one is the hard type of tick that crunches when you smash it and two is the soft bodied tick.  The hard bodied tick is more common in our area of PA. This would include the deer tick that is known to carry Lyme disease.  How do you avoid a tick bite?  Stay inside, now that is not possible so you can use an insect repellent that has a minimum of 33% deet.  It has been shown to ward off a high percentage of ticks.  You could also try a permethrin repellent.  You spray this repellent on your clothes and it will last for 6 weeks even through washing it.  It has been 100% successful in tests done by the Ohio State University.  The tick crawls across the fabric sprayed and falls off and dies within seconds. 

Tick in "questing" position in grass
photo from entomology.ucdavis.edu

Clockwise from top, female, male, larva, nymph
photo from tickinfo.com