Active tick surveillance begins in Windsor-Essex

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) launched their active tick surveillance Friday with some tips on how to prevent tick bites.

The WECHU’s tick surveillance includes the identification and testing of ticks that are collected by public health staff. Public parks and trails frequently used by residents are surveyed to gather local data of tick populations.

"They are small insects very similar to the spider family,” said health promotion specialist Amandeep Hans. “We have two varieties here — dog ticks and deer ticks.”

These ticks are very small and hard to see, WECHU officials say, some as small as a poppy seed. They are often fund in wooded areas like campgrounds, parks, trils and even your own backyard. 

"The blacklegged ticks are the ones we are looking for,” Hans said. “They are the ones that cause Lyme disease.”

"If the tick has been attached for more than 24 hours the symptoms can last anywhere from three days to one month.”

Some symptoms include a rash, fever, chills, headache, muscle pain and fatigue. 

The region has been deemed an "endemic area" for ticks.

Hans said part of the reason for the uptick in ticks this year comes down to climate change.

"It's climate change,” she said. “We have increased temperatures, rainfall, (humidity). 

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit launched their active tick surveillance program in Windsor, Ont. on Friday, June 2, 2023. (Stefanie Masotti/CTV News Windsor)

WECHU offers the following tips to help avoid tick bites:

• Avoid walking in tall grass and stay on the centre of paths
• Cover up. Wear pants and long-sleeved shirts
• Wear light coloured clothing to spot ticks easily
• Tuck your pants into your socks and wear closed toed shoes
• Do a full body check on yourself, children and pets after being outdoors
• Shower within two hours of being outdoors
• Put your clothes into a dryer on high heat (at least 60 minutes) to kill any possible ticks
• Put a tick collar on your pets
• Keep grass in your yard short

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit launched their active tick surveillance program in Windsor, Ont. on Friday, June 2, 2023. (Stefanie Masotti/CTV News Windsor)

WECHU advises if you do find a tick on your body, quickly remove it with a tick key or a pair of tweezers. Gently wash the bite and surrounding area with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.

If you are concerned about the possibility of Lyme disease, which certain ticks carry, the health unit says to take the following steps:

• Do not dispose of the tick
• Keep it in a container or a small plastic bag that can be sealed
• Place a piece of damp paper towel in the container or the bag
• Contact your health care provider and discuss if any further action is required

The WECHU no longer accepts ticks for identification and testing. Instead, a free online service for identification is available, you can submit a photograph of the tick to etick.ca.  

For background information including statistics, visit WECHU's Ticks and Lyme disease web page.

-- With files from CTV News Windsor's Stefanie Masotti

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit launched their active tick surveillance program in Windsor, Ont. on Friday, June 2, 2023. (Stefanie Masotti/CTV News Windsor)