By: Blonde Two
Despite having cute names like, ‘hedgehog tick’ and ‘red sheep tick’, ticks are bad news for both ourselves and our pets and are becoming more prevalent in the UK. If you take a look at the UK tick threat map, you will see that the whole of the South West has been classified as having a high risk of tick threat. We are more used to checking for ticks during the summer months, which is why B1 and I were surprised to last week, at the start of February, to find a tick on Dartmoor taking a cheeky stroll across B1’s flask.
If you are wondering what to do if you find a tick attached to your body (it will be aiming for somewhere warm and moist so always check your ‘dark places’!) There is some excellent tick advice here from Public Health England, including some information on Lyme Disease and what to look out for if you suspect you have been in a tick-infested area. One thing that we would like to reiterate is that the only safe way to remove a tick is to use a tick card or fine-nosed tick tweezers. Using anything to burn or chemically shock the tick risks it vomiting into you… something to avoid we would say.
Blonde One and I have a word for ticks and all other biting insects… we can’t use it in polite company!
