CANFIELD, Ohio — Mild winter weather conditions is a sure sign tick season is right around the corner.

 

Ticks are blood-feeding parasites that can impact the quality of life and health of both humans and pets. According to The Ohio State University extension office in Canfield, they can infect a host with several diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. And the culprits are the American dog tick, the deer tick (often called the blacklegged tick) and the lone star tick.

 

“These ticks are commonly found in Ohio starting in April and May,” said Eric Barrett, an extension educator.

 

“We realize we need to put out more tick information when we get that first call, and April or May is when we get the first caller telling us, ‘Hey, I got a tick, can you identify it for us?’”

 

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, blacklegged ticks are active throughout the year in Ohio with the adults active in the spring, fall and winter. The nymphs are active in the spring and summer, and the larvae are active in late summer. The onset of human Lyme disease cases occurs throughout the year in Ohio.

 

“When people send in ticks we tell them what kind of tick it is. If we can’t get that specific, we’ll send it to campus because it depends on what stage of growth that tick is in that we can properly identify it,” Barrett said.

 

The Ohio Department of Health keeps track of all the different ticks found in the state and how many have been found. They can keep track of good or bad tick years.

 

According to the department, Lyme disease is most feared, transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash called erythema migrans, or the “bull’s-eye” rash.

 

Lyme disease occurs primarily in the Northeast and upper Midwest, with Ohio wedged in between. Greene County Christmas tree grower Matt Mongin contracted Lyme disease in 2015, after 30 years in the tree business. “I got seriously sick,” Mongin recalled. “My wife took me to the emergency room and within 24 hours I had lost consciousness. The physicians in the ICU weren’t sure if I would live.”

 

He regained consciousness four days later but spent the next 13 days in the hospital. He underwent fourplus months of daily injections of antibiotics to cure his Lyme disease.

 

Ohio has reported fairly low occurrence of Lyme disease in the past, but since 2010 blacklegged tick populations in the state have increased dramatically and their range continues to expand, particularly in the forest habitats.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 30,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year around the country, but experts believe most cases are never reported. There were 112 Ohio confirmed Lyme cases in 2015.

 

Barrett offers the following suggestions to prevent encounters with ticks:

 

•Wear high socks, even if just planning for a walk

 

•Tuck pant legs into socks, especially when around tall grass

 

•Wear light clothing, as it will be easier to locate ticks if they’re actually on you

 

“If a tick becomes attached to the skin, people really need to watch how long they think that tick has been attached,” Barrett said. “It usually takes several hours or days, usually, to have a transmission. So, you really need to go to the doctor if you find one that is actually engorged and really swelled up.”