The Summit County Health Department’s guide to dealing with ticks

Summit County Public Health Center // Summit County Health Department in Park City. Photo: Michele Roepke // TownLift

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — Tick season is well underway in Summit County and across the state, so it’s time to brush up on your tick prevention and removal tips before a tick brushes up on you.

Here’s a full guide from the Summit County Health Department:

• Ticks are most commonly found from snowmelt to mid-July.
• The most common tick in Utah is the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick which does not carry or transmit Lyme Disease but can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
• The only tick capable of transmitting Lyme Disease in Utah is the Western Blacklegged Tick, which is rarely found in the state.
• Avoid ticks by staying out of grassy, bushy areas, wearing pants and long-sleeved clothing, and applying tick repellant.
• Conduct tick checks on your pets and everywhere on your body.
• Ticks prefer warm places where they can burrow themselves without detection. Important places to check include the scalp, ears, underarms, bellybutton, groin, pelvic area, backs of knees, and between the toes.

Tick removal

• Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
• Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth parts with tweezers. If you cannot remove the mouth easily with tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
• After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
  Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by:

Putting it in rubbing alcohol

Placing it in a sealed bag/container

Wrapping it tightly in tape

Flushing it down the toilet