WHAT KIND OF TICK IS THIS?

Have you ever pulled a tick off of your child, your dog, or even yourself and really wished you could know what kind of tick it was? And have you ever looked at a CDC map showing the concentration of Lyme disease in the northeast? Did you know that in the last 10 years the reported instances in Massachusetts has ranged from 1,801 to 4,019? Why all these questions? Because there actually is a way to find out what kind of tick has latched onto you, your child, or your pet and it can be a great help in keeping your family healthy and tracking habits of tick populations and the risk of disease in Massachusetts.

SMILE FOR THE CAMERA

University of Rhode Island’s TickEncounter Resource Center wants a picture of your tick, so much so that they even have a quick tutorial on how to take the best pictures. If you submit a picture of any tick found on you or your family and answer a few simple questions about your tick encounter, TERC will get back to you and tell you what kind of tick you had. What good is this information? Of course, let’s hope you don’t get sick, but if you did… doctors can use this information for a quicker diagnosis and treatment of a possible tick-borne illness. However, let’s assume you don’t get sick. You are still helping track tick activity in your area. Knowing the kinds of ticks and being able to estimate the density is a great tool for preventing and educating about tick-borne disease.

Here at Mosquito Squad of Leominster, we are dedicated to the effort involved in eradicating Lyme disease. The more information that those involved in the study of tick habits and diseases have, the closer they will become to ridding us of this painful disease. And until then, at the very least the information can be used to make us aware of what is in our very own backyards. We strongly encourage you to take part in this and send your tick pictures in when you have them. And don’t forget to call us to keep the ticks out of your yard. Our barrier treatment can eliminate 85-90% if adult ticks on contact and for up to 3 weeks. Wouldn’t you rather just have no pictures to take? Call us today.