Maurice Brenner
Pickering Regional Councillor, Ward 1
Ticks and Mosquitoes: Avoid the Bite
Now that we’re fully into summer, it’s time to spend more time outdoors. Whether you’re a dog walker, hiker, or explorer, enjoying this time of year means being aware of a few potential risks to your health. Let’s take a look at the Region of Durham’s Public Health Department and the role it plays offering programs and services, and managing and controlling diseases we can unknowingly be exposed to while enjoying the summer outdoors.
Ticks and Lyme Disease
Like many diseases, Lyme disease can be treated but not cured, which is why it’s important to take the necessary precautions when outdoors this time of year. Wear light clothing that covers as much skin as possible. Ticks neither fly nor jump — they transfer from long grass areas and overhanging trees onto their host. Some are the size of a sesame seed and hard to see. Once home, it’s important to remove your clothes for immediate hot-water washing and take a shower, checking your body as you wash.
If you find an area where you’ve already been bitten, remove the tick gently with fine-tipped tweezers. (Durham Region Public Health provides tick kit tweezers at no charge.) There is no shortage of wrong information floating around — never try burning the area with a hot match or spraying it with insect repellent. These practices won’t work and could actually harm you.
Once you’ve been bitten, it’s important to contact your doctor or, if that isn’t possible, a pharmacist who has Ministry of Health approval to administer treatment. This must be done within 24 hours. Assume the worst: tell them you’ve been bitten and believe it could carry Lyme disease.
Municipalities such as Pickering are working with Regional Public Health. Signs are placed along many trail entrances reminding trail users of the risks, along with a QR code linking to Regional Public Health for more information. As an additional prevention measure, buffer zones are required along public walkways abutting municipal or regional properties.
Tick prevention checklist
- Wear light-coloured clothing that covers as much skin as possible.
- After being outdoors, remove and wash clothes in hot water, then shower and check your body.
- Remove an embedded tick gently with fine-tipped tweezers (free tick kit tweezers available from Durham Region Public Health).
- Never burn a tick with a match or spray it with insect repellent.
- Contact a doctor or Ministry-approved pharmacist within 24 hours of a bite and mention possible Lyme disease exposure.
- Watch for warning signs and QR codes posted at trail entrances.
Mosquitoes and West Nile Virus
Durham Region has been tracking and responding to the risk of West Nile virus as far back as 2003, when the Province of Ontario began funding the program. Seventy-six percent of all reported cases occur between July and September; however, with current environmental impacts such as global warming, risks can extend throughout the year.
The Durham Region Health Department conducts surveillance and control activities for West Nile virus along roadsides, in catch basins, and at stagnant surface-water sites. This includes trapping adult mosquitoes and sending them for testing and identification, as well as investigating reported human cases. While case numbers have decreased over the years, Regional Public Health recommends prevention as the best defence.
When walking at dusk or dawn — the most prevalent times of risk — wear long-sleeve shirts, long pants, and covered shoes, and spray your clothing with insect repellent. On your own property, eliminate stagnant water. If you notice stagnant water on private or municipal property, including conservation lands and hydro corridors, report it to your municipality. Municipal bylaw officers work as a team with Regional Public Health to ensure the area is treated with larvicide, while the bylaw team works with the property owner to remedy the situation — which could mean pumping out stagnant water or cutting long grass and weeds.
Mosquito prevention checklist
- Avoid dusk and dawn outdoor exposure when possible — these are peak risk periods.
- Wear long sleeves, long pants, and covered shoes; apply insect repellent to clothing.
- Eliminate stagnant water on your own property.
- Report stagnant water on municipal property, conservation lands, or hydro corridors to your municipality.
More information is available through the Region of Durham.
Website: www.durham.ca
