Some ticks can carry serious, sometimes deadly, diseases, including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and ehrlichiosis.

Avoid Tick Hot Spots 

• If you have a pet, ask a veterinarian about flea and tick preventatives. Check your pet and yourself for ticks after being outdoors. 
• Avoid grassy, brushy and wooded areas. If you are hiking, walk in the center of the trails and do not wander. 

Use Repellents 

• Apply EPA-registered repellents on your exposed skin. 
• Treat your clothes (especially pants, socks and shoes) with permethrin, which kills ticks on contact, or buy pretreated ones. Do not use the spray directly on your skin. 
• Follow the repellent manufacturer’s instructions. 

Additional Tips 

• Tuck your pant cuffs into your socks, so ticks cannot hide in the fabric folds. 
• Look or feel for ticks, especially around your scalp, ears, underarms, belly button, waist, back, pelvic area and knees and between your legs. Check children and pets as well. 
• Shower quickly after coming home. 
• Wash your clothes in hot water and dry them on high heat for 60 minutes to ensure any ticks are dead. 
• Monitor for emerging diseases related to ticks in Michigan. 

• If a tick is attached to you, use small-tipped tweezers to grab it. Pull straight up and away from you. Do not rip, twist or jerk, which can cause parts of the tick to stay in your skin. If that happens, use the tweezers to remove any parts you can. Put the tick in a resealable baggie and take pictures. Verify the type of tick  because some carry Lyme disease. 
• Clean the bite area with an antiseptic. 
• Watch for rashes or flu-like symptoms and contact your doctor if they appear. 

When outside for extended periods, take these precautions: 

• Wear light-colored, smooth-finished clothing. 
• Avoid perfumed soaps, shampoos, deodorants and colognes. 
• Put on a clean outfit and bathe daily. (Sweat may attract bees.) 
• Dress to cover as much of your body as possible. 
• Properly dispose of food waste, as wasps thrive on discarded food.
• Do not swat at an insect, which may cause it to sting. 

• If you are attacked by several bees, wasps or hornets at once, run away. Bees release a chemical when they sting, which may attract other bees. If you have been stung, wash the site with soap and water. 
• Remove the stinger by wiping gauze or scraping a clean fingernail over the area. Wasps, yellow jackets and hornets do not leave stingers but can sting multiple times. Never squeeze the stinger or use tweezers, which can release more venom. 
• Apply ice to reduce swelling and calamine lotion to reduce itching. 
• Take an antihistamine (Benadryl). 
• If you experience trouble breathing or are stung more than 10 times or inside your nose or throat, seek immediate medical attention.

Mosquitoes can bite day and night, so be sure to protect yourself. 

Use Repellents

• Use EPA-registered repellents with DEET, picaridin, IR3535, lemon eucalyptus oil (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD) or 2-undecanone. Do not use OLE or PMD on children under 3 years old. 
• If using sunscreen, apply it before repellents. 

Additional Tips

• Wear loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and pants. Treat your clothing with 0.5% permethrin, but do not use it directly on your skin. 
• Stop mosquitoes from laying eggs in or near water. Every week, empty and scrub items that can hold water, such as kiddie pools, birdbaths, flowerpots, doghouses and tires. Buy larvicides like dunks to toss into ponds, unused swimming pools, birdbaths, rain gutters and animal troughs. 
• Monitor West Nile virus cases in Oakland County. 

Some mosquitoes can carry diseases, like the West Nile and Zika viruses, so keep track of any bites. 

• Wash the bite with soap and water. 
• Use an ice pack for 10 minutes to reduce swelling and itching. 
• To help relieve itching, put on an over-the-counter anti-itch or antihistamine cream or make a paste from baking soda and water, apply it to the bite and wash it off after 10 minutes. 
• See a healthcare provider if the bite appears infected or you have a fever, swollen lymph nodes or increased skin swelling or redness. 

Animal bites  from bats, skunks, foxes and raccoons can transmit rabies. 

• Vaccinate your dogs and cats regularly to protect them from exposure to rabid animals. 
• Do not leave your pets’ food outside unsupervised. 
• Do not handle stray, wild or dead animals. Stay away from unfamiliar animals. 
• Keep garbage securely covered, as it may attract wild or stray animals. 
• If you find a bat in your home, do not release it. Safely capture it by using the following instructions: 
• Find a small container and a piece of cardboard large enough to cover the opening. Punch air holes in the cardboard. 
• Put on leather work gloves. When the bat lands, place the container over it. Slide the cardboard underneath to trap the bat inside. 
• Tape the cardboard to the container to secure the bat inside and contact the Health Division to have the bat tested for rabies. 
• Keep your pets mainly indoors and supervised when outdoors to limit their exposure to wild animals that might be rabid. Use leashes when walking your dogs or keep them in your fenced-in yard. 

• Clean the wound immediately and thoroughly with soap and warm water. 
• Call the Communicable Disease Unit at 248-858-1286 during regular business hours. If you are bitten or exposed after hours and need immediate assistance, call 248-858-0931. If your pet is bitten, call a veterinarian.