Archive: Aug 16, 2017, 12:00 AM
Protect yourself against ticks
Wisconsin summers bring beautiful weather. Some see this as an opportunity to crank the air conditioning, but many will take advantage of this opportunity to get outdoors. When you are taking in the scenic lakefront, hiking the Ice Age Trail, or some other outdoor activity, the most common pest you might encounter are mosquitoes. While these are a nuisance, there is another insect to look out for — ticks. Ticks are a type of parasite that attach to a host organism and feed off them. There are a variety of tick species in Wisconsin. According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Entomology, most common are the wood and deer tick. Although small, ticks can carry a number of diseases. The Wisconsin Division of Public Health lists Anaplasmosis, Powassan virus, and, most prominently, Lyme disease as examples. Data from the Center for Disease Control show a decrease from 20102015 in the number of people contracting Lyme disease in Wisconsin each year. However, those numbers are still higher than other states, with 1,309 confirmed cases in 2015, which is why Wisconsinites need to protect themselves from ticks. To learn how to protect yourself against ticks, here are answers to some key questions: