Dr. Tom Mather shares tips on staying safe during tick season.
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00:00All right, these interviews can make me itchy.
00:02Oh, yeah.
00:02Spring means more time outdoors, and with it, a higher risk of tick bites.
00:07Dr. Tom Mather is director of the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector Bore Disease.
00:12He's here with tips on staying safe this tick season.
00:14Thank you so much for being with us.
00:17Thanks for inviting me.
00:18All right, there are several types of ticks, and if you find one, what should you do?
00:23And what if it's already attached?
00:26Those are all great questions.
00:28I think that the first thing people need to know is what types of ticks they are,
00:32because different ticks transmit different germs.
00:35And so the first step is to know just what kind of tick it is.
00:39The best way to do that is to not just flush it down the toilet right away, but to save it.
00:45Once you've removed it, you can save it in a Ziploc bag or something,
00:51and then work towards trying to figure out what type of tick it is.
00:56We have three main kinds of ticks that affect people in the United States.
01:01American dog ticks, black-legged ticks, and lone star ticks.
01:04Then there's a whole host of other species that people might encounter as well,
01:09but probably 90% of the ticks that people encounter are those three species.
01:15But they come in a few different flavors, sort of male and females.
01:19They look different.
01:20Then there's the nymphal stage, life stage, which is smaller than the adult stage, life.
01:26So it's kind of not overwhelming, but a lot of things that people should try and know.
01:32And our tick encounter website has a great resource for identifying ticks.
01:39You can take a clear picture of the top side of the tick and send it to us,
01:43and within 24 hours, we'll get back to you and tell you what kind of tick it is,
01:48and then other information about what types of germs that you might expect
01:53and other things for protection.
01:57All right.
01:57Many of us think of ticks and also Lyme disease.
02:00Is that still a major threat, and are there other diseases ticks can carry?
02:07Great question, Bernie.
02:10You know, the main thing that, like you said, people sort of equate ticks with Lyme disease,
02:16but as I mentioned, the different types of ticks transmit different germs.
02:20So black-legged ticks and western black-legged ticks carry the Lyme disease germ,
02:25but American dog ticks and lone star ticks do not.
02:28And so that's why being able to identify your tick is important.
02:34In terms of the diseases that you get, Lyme disease is still sort of a leading culprit
02:43with over a half a million new cases of Lyme disease every year across America.
02:50One that we're keeping an eye on is associated with the lone star tick bites in particular called alpha-gal syndrome.
02:58It's a scary subject, but the bites of those ticks don't transmit a germ,
03:04but they spit into you some of their saliva that contains a sugar that they had gotten in a previous blood meal
03:12from feeding on an animal.
03:14And that sugar can stimulate an allergic response when someone eats red meat.
03:19And so that really can be a life-changing event and mostly associated with lone star tick bites.
03:28And so that's why we're really interested in warning people about tick protection in particular.
03:35You don't know what kind of tick might get on you,
03:38but you definitely don't want to be bitten by a lone star tick.
03:41Well, speaking of tick protection, what about tick sprays and clothing with permethrin in it?
03:46How safe are they for kids, adults, and even pets?
03:50Yeah, so the permethrin-treated clothing is the way to go as far as our studies show.
03:56Once it's bound to the fabric and it's dry, it doesn't really transfer across your skin very well.
04:02There are some other great products for protecting your pets as well.
04:08The easiest to use are these chew tablets that people give to their pets,
04:14and that will kill the tick once the tick is attached to the host,
04:18but it won't protect you from loose and wandering ticks on your pet.
04:25And so that is another issue.
04:27So for that, there are some spray and topical products as well that also work pretty well.
04:34I think in terms of repellents, you mentioned the permethrin-treated clothing.
04:40Companies like Insect Shield treat clothing already, and you can purchase that,
04:45or they actually have a service where you can send your own favorite clothes,
04:49like you have Lucky Golf Shorts or something.
04:52You can send them in and have them treated for you.
04:55The first step, I think, is to just get used to the fact that once this permethrin is dried on your clothing,
05:03it's not going to really cause much of a toxicity concern.
05:10Some of the other sprays that people like to use, natural product sprays,
05:15we're in the process of testing them now,
05:18but right now our studies suggest that they're not as long-lasting as perhaps your outdoor adventure will be.
05:25So you may think that you've protected yourself, but you may not be as protected as you would like.
05:31But the permethrin-treated clothing definitely lasts for a while through several washes in particular.
05:41All right, Dr. Tom Mazler, Director of the University of Rhode Island Center for Vector-Borne Disease.
05:47Thanks again for joining us.
05:49Great information.
05:50So knowledgeable.
05:52I have so many more questions, but we appreciate you being with us this morning
05:55and hopefully helping to keep people safer this summer as they make their adventures.