Steps to survive ‘pretty active’ tick season in Georgia, South Carolina
AUGUSTA, Ga. - It doesn’t take long for researchers at Emory to find ticks in Georgia to study.
“Infectious diseases because they’re are a large problem for public health not only in the U.S. but throughout the world. I really like working on diseases that we can have an impact on and actually help patients get better. Tick-borne diseases fall within that category and they are relatively understudied,” said Dr. Anne Piantadosi with Emory University.
Tick-borne illnesses are reported year-round in Georgia but according to the Georgia Department of Public Health, they are most active in warmer months.
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An Augusta allergist says he has hundreds of patients with a potentially life-threatening tick-borne illness, and he’s not talking about Lyme disease.
“We are expecting a pretty active tick season this year and that is because we had a pretty mild winter,” said Piantadosi.
There are preventative measures people can take.
“Wearing long sleeve pants, long sleeve shirts, and actually tuck your socks over your pants. If you are going to wear shorts and short sleeve shirts, I really recommend using a tick repellant,” said Piantadosi.
Using products like Permethrin can also be helpful.
“You can spray the permethrin ahead of time, let it dry and that will help keep ticks off of your body and therefore off of your clothing as well,” said Piantadosi, “The environmental protection website has a really nice search tool that you can use to choose between the various tick repellants.”
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Whether it’s venomous is the worry or fear underlying most of the questions. Chances are it’s not. Only seven of the 47 species native to Georgia are venomous.
Tick checks when people get home are also recommended. If you find a tick on you, use tweezers and take the tick out of the skin, and make sure you get the whole body.
“Ticks like to attach and go to warm parts of the body,” said Piantadosi.
Piantadosi said tick-borne illnesses may be a bigger problem than we realize, and that more scientific advances need to be made to understand the realities.
Concerns in South Carolina
In South Carolina, invasive Asian longhorned ticks have been raising alarm in the past couple of years.
Bites from these ticks have caused severe illnesses in people, animals and livestock in other countries.
Asian longhorned ticks were first identified in the United States in 2010 and have since been found in 17 states. In South Carolina, a small number of these ticks were identified in 2020 on shelter dogs in Lancaster and Pickens counties.
Unlike other ticks, a single female Asian longhorned tick can produce 1,000 to 2,000 eggs at a time without mating. This means a single animal could host hundreds or thousands of ticks.
Asian longhorned ticks are light brown in color and tiny. Because of their small size and quick movement, they are difficult to detect. These ticks can feed on any animal but are most commonly found on livestock, dogs and humans.
What you can do
Experts recommend:
- Check pets for ticks after spending time outdoors.
- Treat clothing with permethrin.
- Focus on covering the lower half of your body, tucking your shirt into pants and pants into socks.
- Conduct a body check on yourself after spending time outdoors.
If a person finds a tick on them, experts recommend the following:
- Don’t panic. In most cases, a tick must be attached for 24 to 48 hours before it can distribute a disease..
- Remove the tick by the head using tweezers.
- Take a picture of the tick and submit it to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
- Dispose of it by flushing it down the toilet.
- See a doctor if you feel sick.
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