Nobody wants to have to deal with ticks. The eight-legged parasites cause discomfort when they latch on to the skin and they transmit diseases. Naturally, therefore, Milwaukee residents will often seek to find ways to keep ticks at bay. Among those solutions are safe animal control techniques practiced and endorsed by Milwaukee’s wildlife experts.

North America’s Ticks

Globally, the tick population has 800 species. Most people pay little attention to ticks and rightly so, since most ticks do not bother human beings. But some do and when they do, the consequences can be serious. Currently, experts are paying close attention to two species of ticks, known for their penchant for finding human hosts. They are the Asian long-horned tick and the lone star tick, both of which have already invaded the North America, especially the US.

The Consequences of Tick Bites

One of the diseases spread by ticks is Lyme disease. Lyme disease gets into the human body through the bites of the black-legged tick. The disease causes symptoms such as fever, headaches, skin rashes and fatigue. Without timely and suitable treatment, Lyme disease progresses to cripple the nervous system, heart, and joints. Ticks get into human space through the fur of wildlife animals like raccoons.  Some ticks like the lone star tick can cause uncomfortable rashes on the skin.

Undoubtedly, it is important to avoid tick bites in order to prevent these complications. The best way to avoid tick-related diseases is to avoid tick bites. But you don’t have to avoid the outdoors for fear of being bitten by ticks. Once you take the precautionary measures below, you will significantly reduce your chances of being bitten by ticks.

How to Prevent Tick Bites

You can keep ticks away by dressing strategically. The perfect anti-tick clothing will be light colored, allowing you to detect ticks as they crawl onto it. You can also spray your clothing with tick repellant (but remember to allow them to dry before putting them on). The way you wear your clothing also matters. You should tuck your shirt into your pants to prevent ticks from finding your skin by crawling under your shirt. You should also tuck the legs of your pants into your socks.

Taking a shower quickly after returning from the outdoors may remove any ticks that have not yet latched onto your skin. After coming in from outdoor activities you can also do body inspections to identify and remove ticks. The inspections should focus on the sections of the body ticks love (between the legs, around the waist, behind or in the ears, in the hair, at the back of knees, in and around the belly button and under the arms). Your pets are also targeted by ticks so if you have a furry companion around you should inspect the little darling to ensure that no ticks have latched on to him.

You can also adjust your environment to prevent tick bites. One adjustment you should consider is removing the greenery (such as honeysuckle, buckthorn, and barberry) that facilitate ticks. You should also keep your grass trimmed low and clear away woodpiles and ground cover because these may harbor the parasitic arachnids. Other measures you should employ include; removing bird feeders and placing wood chips beneath swing sets and hammocks or other outdoor recreational spaces.

Milwaukee has some of the most beautiful natural spaces in Wisconsin. These include, but are not limited to, Burns Commons, Mckinley Park, Marshall Park and Sherman Park.  The fear of ticks should not prevent you and your animal companion from enjoying them. Just follow the suggestions shared here to ensure that you control and prevent tick invasion of your property and also that you and your animal companion are tick free after your exploration of Milwaukee’s great outdoors.