Tick Season Peaks: 5 Simple Steps to Protect Your Family
School is out and families are heading outdoors, but Serbia's Batut institute warns that ticks are most active in May and June. Here is how to stay safe with a few easy habits.
- Serbia's public health institute Batut warns that ticks are most active in May and June, exactly when families head outdoors.
- A study in Belgrade found that one third of collected ticks were infected and able to transmit Lyme disease.
- For an infection to occur, a tick must stay attached to the skin for at least 48 hours, which makes a quick body check essential.
- The most important step after time in nature is checking the whole body, and seeing a doctor right away if a red ring appears around the bite.
Is it enough to just pull on long trousers before a walk in the woods? No, but it is a good start. With the school year over, families are heading out on day trips, into the mountains and across meadows, and Serbia’s public health institute Batut is reminding everyone that May and June are precisely the months when ticks are most active.
This is no reason to keep children locked indoors. Being outside and moving is healthy and needed, especially after months spent at a desk. The point is to know what is out there and to turn a few simple habits into a routine before you set off on the trail. A practical tip always beats panic.
Ticks carry two illnesses worth knowing about: Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. It sounds serious, and it is, but the risk drops sharply when a bite is prevented or spotted in time. A study carried out in Belgrade found that one third of the collected ticks were carrying the agent that causes Lyme disease, a reminder that the danger is neither abstract nor far away.
How do you protect yourself before heading outdoors?
Protection starts before you lace up your shoes. Here are five steps worth turning into a habit for the whole family.
First, wear light-colored clothing with long sleeves. You will spot a tick far more easily on light fabric than on dark. Second, wear long trousers and, if possible, tuck the legs into your socks, since ticks usually climb up from below, off grass and low plants. Third, put on closed shoes rather than sandals or flip-flops.
The fourth step is repellent. Apply it to exposed skin and, if needed, to clothing, following the instructions on the package, especially with young children. The fifth step may be the easiest of all: stick to worn paths instead of pushing through tall grass and dense bushes, where ticks wait on the tips of the blades.
These five steps take no more than a couple of minutes, yet together they make a big difference. Our advice is to fold them into the same routine as applying sunscreen.
What should you do after you get home?
The most important part of protection happens once you are back from your trip. Check the whole body, your own and your children’s, because a tick prefers to tuck itself into warm, hidden spots: behind the knees, in the groin, under the arms, around the waist and on the head in children. This firsthand check is your best defense.
The reason the check matters so much comes down to a single number: for an infection to pass on, a tick must stay attached to the skin for at least 48 hours. That means a tick spotted quickly and removed properly usually never gets the chance to do harm. If you find one, remove it carefully with tweezers, pulling steadily without twisting, and disinfect the spot.
What should you watch for in the days that follow? Keep an eye on the skin around the bite. If a spreading red ring appears, or if fever, headache and joint pain set in, do not wait. See a doctor and be sure to mention the tick bite, because that detail speeds up the diagnosis.
Summer is only just beginning, and with it the finest part of the year for being outdoors. Which of these habits does your family already follow, and which will you add before your next trip?
