Lyme Disease Cases Much Higher Than Previously Reported

According to new information gathered by the CDC the number of lyme disease cases is 10 times higher than the 30,000 cases each year that has previously been reported.  Because not every case is reported, recent efforts have uncovered that the number of lyme disease cases is about 300,000 each year.  The CDC is conducting 3 complimentary studies to improve their count of lyme disease cases.

How to Properly Remove a Tick
Source

To prevent tick bites:

• Avoid thick areas of vegetation.
• Wear long sleeves, long pants, and shoes that cover your feet when going outside.
• Use insect repellant such as DEET.
• Bathe as soon as possible when returning from being outside.  This allows you to find ticks easier.
• Check yourself for ticks from head to toe, especially in your hair.  Make sure to check your children when they return from being outside.
• Check any jackets, hats, bags, etc. that may have come into contact with ticks.
• Dry clothes on high heat to kill any ticks on clothing and/or accessories.
• Talk to your veterinarian on the best solutions to keep ticks away from your pets.
• Check your pets when they come in from being outside.
• Immediately remove ticks if found on a human or a pet. Find out How to Remove a Tick.
• Keep grass cut and vegetation trimmed to reduce areas for ticks to call home.

For more information on Lyme disease visit the CDC.

For more information on how to control ticks visit Northwest Exterminating.