How Bad Are The Ticks In Westchester?

Zoonotic Transmission

This is a fancy word that refers to the ability of a disease to pass from animals to people. The concern with tick-borne disease is that they hop from wild animals to people. There are a few reasons why this is important to consider:

• Ticks don't take humans as hosts. Therefore, it is unlikely for a tick to go from person to person.
• Animals in urban areas, such as mice and rats, are exposed to harmful organisms because they climb around in dirty places and eat rotting organic matter or feces. When a tick bites one of these animals, it has a higher chance of contracting a disease-causing organism. When ticks fall off small animals, they seek larger animals to feed on. This is when disease transmission is a concern for humans.
• Seed ticks (young, six-legged ticks) are not likely to have a transmittable disease because you may be the first mammal they've fed on. If you find a six-legged tick attached to you, there is less to worry about.

Mitigating Disease Transmission

When a tick bites you, it will attach for a long time. Some diseases, such as Lyme disease, can be prevented if you catch ticks early and remove them. It is estimated that a tick must be attached for 24 to 48 hours to cause Lyme disease. Along with early detection, it is essential to properly remove any ticks you find attached to your skin. If you squeeze the body of a tick, you can introduce more bacteria into the wound and hasten the transfer. We recommend using a tick-removal tool or needle-nose tweezers to remove ticks. If you use tweezers, be sure to pinch the tick near the head.