Spring is the time when hunters go after wild turkeys and hikers enjoy the beautiful weather outdoors. It’s also the time when ticks come out and Lake County has an abundance of them. Whereas most of these ticks are harmless and just a nuisance, some carry the potentially deadly Lyme disease. In fact, ticks are already showing up at Highland Springs Park, located just outside of Lakeport. The park has a disc golf range and several participants report finding ticks on their bodies. Actually, ticks are common throughout Lake County.
Ticks are the primary carriers of Lyme disease in Lake County and throughout California. If a person is bitten and gets infected and doesn’t receive prompt treatment, it can have devastating consequences. While the chances of catching Lyme disease are not high, people who frequent the woods in Lake and Mendocino counties are urged to be on the lookout for ticks that carry the bacteria. Adult ticks will wait on low-lying vegetation until they can grab a passing host. Immature ticks can be picked up by humans directly from the soil or even leaf litter.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Lyme disease is a bacterial disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease is spread by the bite of a tick. In California, it’s the western black-legged tick that transmits the disease. The tick bites an infected animal such as a mouse, bird, deer or lizard and then becomes a carrier of the disease.
Symptoms of Lyme disease vary. Within one to two weeks of being infected, a person may develop a bull’s-eye rash along with a fever, headache and muscle or joint pain. Some people with Lyme disease do not develop these early symptoms. Others experience a fever and other flu-like symptoms without a rash. In its early stages Lyme disease can be effectively treated with antibiotics. However, if left untreated it can cause arthritic or neurological problems that require extensive medical treatment.
After several days or weeks, the bacteria may spread throughout the body of an infected person. People infected with the disease experience a wide array of symptoms from arthritis to heart and neurological problems. There have been very few deaths caused by Lyme disease, however, the crippling effects of the disease can last a lifetime.
There is a blood test for Lyme disease and, according to the CDC, the test is about 80-85 percent reliable. The fact is it doesn’t always pick up the disease, which can lay dormant in your body for years before becoming active.
The people most at risk for catching Lyme disease are hunters, hikers, campers or workers who spend a good deal of time in the woods. A controlled study done by world-renown entomologist Robert S. Lane of the University of California at Berkeley listed the five greatest risk behaviors for catching Lyme disease. The study consisted of researchers doing various tasks in the woods and the number of ticks were counted that attached themselves to these individuals. Sitting on a log drew most of the ticks. That was followed by gathering wood, sitting against a tree, walking through the woods and sitting in leaf piles.
According to Lane, only nymphs (immature ticks) and adult female ticks can transmit the Lyme disease bacteria to humans. Lane says that it’s the nymphs, which are about the size of a poppy seed, that are most dangerous because they’re hard to see and difficult to remove.
A close examination of your body after being out in the woods will go a long way in preventing tick bites. Check under the arms, in the groin area and behind the ears — anywhere there is soft tissue. Only a small percentage of ticks carry the Lyme disease bacteria. Studies have shown that in Lake and Mendocino counties less than 3 percent of the ticks are actual carriers.
The good news is that it normally takes at least 24 hours after a tick attaches itself to a human before the person is infected. If the tick is removed promptly the chance of getting Lyme disease is very low.
If a person is bitten by a tick the CDC advises that you remove it carefully to prevent breaking off the head. The best method is to use a small set of tweezers. Grab the tick as close as possible to the head and pull straight out. Ticks can be repelled by applying a spray called Repel. Local hunter and veteran woodsman Dan Stahlman says he has been spraying his hunting clothes with Repel for 10 years and has never been bitten. According to Stahlman, he sprays his clothing once every two weeks and it’s proven very effective.
