07/08/2025
We love being outside in the summer, but there is one major drawback: ticks. Here are some tips from the Department of Health and Wellness and Public Health on how you can prevent tick bites, and what to do when they happen.
- Wear long pants and long sleeves in areas likely to have ticks, and tuck your pants into your socks.
- Use bug spray containing DEET or Icaridin for ages 6 months and older. Follow directions on the package carefully.
- Check children, pets and yourself for ticks after spending time outside.
- Carefully remove ticks with tweezers or a tick remover. Clean the bite with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Note when and where on the body the bite occurred.
- Nova Scotia is home to several kinds of ticks, but only blacklegged tick bites can cause illnesses like Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis and Powassan virus.
- In most cases, a tick carrying the bacteria that can cause these diseases must attach and feed for at least 24 hours before bacteria can be transmitted.
- Contact a healthcare provider or pharmacist if you believe a tick has been attached to you for 24 hours or longer, or you develop symptoms after finding a tick on your body or exploring outdoors (e.g., a rash [sometimes shaped like a bull’s eye], fever, fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain and headaches).
Helpful links:
Tick Safety: https://novascotia.ca/ticksafety/
Tick Identification: https://etick.ca/
More summer safety tips: www.nshealth.ca/summer-safety