You won't likely have to worry about slipping on ice or getting hit with a snowball for the next few months.
But the Huron County Health Unit is warning mosquitoes and ticks do present some risks. Public Health Inspector Keshia Hackett points out mosquitoes carry the West Nile Virus and blacklegged ticks carry Lyme Disease. Hackett says some people who are infected with West Nile Virus may not show symptoms, but some people may experience symptoms like a fever, or a head ache, body aches and swollen lymph glands and they usually experience those two to fifteen days after becoming infected. She also notes there were two positive pools of West Nile Virus found in Huron County last summer.
“A tick must be attached and feeding for at least 24 to 36 hours before it will transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease," said Hackett. "So doing those tick checks as soon as you return from spending some time outdoors, paying attention to areas such as your scalp, your armpits and your groin.”
Hackett says ticks are generally found in long grasses or deciduous forests and you won't always know when one has decided to make you their new home. She says their bite is painless and once ticks get on you they can crawl around until they can find a spot where they would like to attach and feed and then they can spend anywhere from three to seven days actually feeding on you. The good news is a tick must be attached and feeding for at least 24 to 36 hours before it will transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, so doing those tick checks as soon as you return from spending some time outdoors, paying attention to areas such as your scalp, your armpits and your groin is critical.
Hackett says the ticks are looking for a warm area and they recommend you also check kids and pets and suggest a shower is a good idea or if you're changing your clothes, put the clothes you were weaing in the dryer on high heat for about sixty minutes. She says if you do find a tick on you, you should remove it with a fine-tipped tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible, pull straight out slowly but firmly, put it into some kind of container and bring it to the Health Unit.