How to Prevent Ticks on My Children
While ticks are not necessarily intimidating insects, the potential spread of disease from tick to human is cause for concern. Not all species of ticks carry disease. However, due to the various species of ticks and difficult identification, any tick bite must be treated with caution. Ticks that do spread disease to humans are fairly common ticks such as the Deer tick and the Lone Star tick. These tick species are commonly found in outdoor and wooded areas. Potential diseases that are spread from common ticks include lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. During the summer and early fall months, children are at risk of tick bites just as much as adults. However, taking the proper preventative measures ensures that your children are safe from tick bites. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Light-colored, long-sleeved shirts
- Light-colored long pants
- Boots or closed-toe shoes
- Masking tape
- Tick repellent
- Tick insecticide
Instructions
-
-
1
Dress your children in appropriate clothing. During hikes or trips through the woods, have each child wear a light-colored long-sleeve shirt, as well as light-colored long pants and closed-toe shoes. For particularly dense wooded areas, have your children wear boots. Tuck all pant bottoms into the top of the boots. Tape the top of the boots to the pants to ensure that ticks cannot get into the pant and crawl up the leg.
-
2
Provide hats and hair ties. Have children with long hair tie their hair back. Ensure that each child wears a hat. Tuck all ponytails or longer hair underneath the cap to prevent ticks from jumping into the hair and crawling up to the scalp.
-
-
3
Use tick repellent. Before spraying your children with repellent, ensure that the repellent is safe for use on children. Spray all clothing and hats with repellent. Spray a small amount of repellent on exposed skin such as hands. Once repellent is on the hands, gently spread the repellent on the face. Avoid contact with the eyes, mouth and nose.
-
4
Be proactive. Make your home and surrounding area undesirable to ticks. Spray tick insecticides in dark areas of the home, as well as wooded areas outside the home. Keep your lawn properly mowed and eliminate weeds or particularly overgrown areas.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Ideal tick repellents contain 10 to 30 percent DEET.
After leaving tick-infested areas, check your children. Look under arms, behind legs and on the scalp. Have your children also check underwear lines.
Ensure that everyone thoroughly washes tick repellent off the skin.
If your child finds a tick on her body, remove the tick as quickly as possible with tweezers. Grasp the tick as closely as possible to the skin and pull gently from the body. Ensure that you pull straight and do not twist the tick. Apply antiseptic spray or rubbing alcohol to the bite site. Closely watch your child's behavior for the next couple of days to ensure that your child is not infected.
Do not pick up ticks with your hands. Always use a cloth or tweezers.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
