I’m just going to say it — ticks are still active. They do not die off in the winter. They hibernate until temperatures warm up and then they resume seeking out their blood meals. As winter temperatures fluctuate, so does tick activity. I think many are thinking that ticks either die off or are not a threat during the winter months. Ticks are a year-round threat in endemic areas like Maine.

We need to remain vigilant in our prevention against the onslaught of tick activity. Ticks will be hungry and will seek out their blood meal without discrimination ~ adult, child or animal. And we continue to layer our apparel and partake in more outdoor activities, we are putting ourselves more at risk for a tick encounter unless we take proper preventative action. Prevention is key to staying tick-free: We may be dealing with snow and ice now, but we have control over protecting ourselves, our families and our pets year-round.

Tick Encounter in Rhode Island reports that blacklegged (deer) ticks are not killed by freezing temperatures, stating that even in the coldest regions of North America, these ticks can still be active on days when temperatures are above freezing (32 degrees) and they are not covered by snow. Here are some easy winter tips to protect your family and pets, even when the outdoors temps are frigid:

Repellent on your skin will mask your odor and protect you from a tick encounter. Ticks sense body heat and can detect odors. That is how they find you.

Wear tick repellent clothing that has been pre-treated with Permethrin (lasts through 70 washings) or buy Permethrin online or at the local hardware store and treat your own clothing (last through 7-10 washings)

When you come inside, toss your clothing in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutes. This will kill any ticks that may have hitched a ride inside.

Continue with year-round pet protection and treat their beds and blankets with Permethrin. Talk to your vet as there are many options orally, topically and pet apparel that has been pre-treated with Permethrin. Dog Not Gone, a Maine company, has some great pet apparel that has been pre-treated with Permethrin and that will last through 70 washes and will not come off on your pet when wet (like rain or snow).

And as always, do your tick checks! It only takes seconds to do a quick check. The longer a tick is attached the greater the risk exposure to a tick-borne disease.Continue to follow the Five Simple Prevention Steps ~ Skin, Clothing, Pets, Homes and Yard (see Prevention tab on our website) ~ no matter the calendar date because prevention is key to staying tick-free.

The deer tick can carry more than just Lyme disease. Anaplasmosis and Babesia (a malaria-based tick-borne disease) are on the rise here in Maine and those diseases do not produce the classic bulls-eye rash. We need to train ourselves to think about ticks and tick-borne disease, not just Lyme Disease and the bulls-eye rash. Less than 50% of all positive cases do produce a rash. We need to know the dangers that are in our communities and know how to protect ourselves, our families and our pets. We need to understand that we live in an endemic region and so our risk is much greater, we need know that symptoms can be sudden or delayed and quite varied. Not all patients will have the same symptoms or severity. We need to know that ticks can carry more than one tick-borne disease, complicating the symptoms, often guiding our doctors down the wrong path with misdiagnosis.

If you have been bitten by a tick or have strange, unexplained symptoms, who you see matters. You want to see a medical provider that understands how the diseases can present and manifest. You want to see a medical provider that has experience diagnosing and treating not only acute but chronic tick-borne infections. You want to see a Lyme literate provider as soon as possible as this is your best chance at a full recovery. But most important, you need to know that no matter how long you’ve been sick, with the right provider and the right treatment protocol, full recovery is possible.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please know that we can help connect you to resources. You can reach us at info@mldse.org

Save the date: Mark your calendars! On Saturday, April 11, we will be hosting our sixth annual Midcoast Lyme Disease Support & Education conference from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Augusta Civic Center. As always, Admission is free. For more information, visit conference2020.mldse.org

Paula is the president of the MLDSE, the 2018 co-chair of the Access to Care Services and Patient Support subcommittee of the federal HHS Tick-borne Disease Working Group, member of Maine’s CDC Vector-borne Workgroup and active in Maine’s Lyme legislation. You can reach her at paula@mldse.org and visit her website www.mldse.org