What You Should Know About Tick Bites

If you’re a pet owner, there’s a good chance that you’ve come across a tick at some point in your life. But have YOU ever been bitten by a tick? Folks that have can tell you that it’s not a pleasant experience! Running your hand across your skin and noticing a little tick body attached is enough to give you the creeps, but don’t panic; the Texas pest control pros at Holder’s have a few tips for you when dealing with a tick bite on your own body.

If you should find a tick on your body, your first task should be to remove it. This can be done by using fine tipped tweezers and carefully grasping the tick as close to the surface of your skin as possible. Slowly and steadily pull the tick out, without twisting or jerking. It is necessary to pull the entire tick out, including the mouth-parts that are embedded in your skin. Once you’ve removed the tick, completely clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

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If you find the bite only after the tick has dropped off, you may recognize it by the familiar red dot that looks like any other bug bite. But if the tick bite symptoms include a red dot with a red circle around it (reminiscent of a bull’s eye), this is a hallmark of Lyme disease and you should contact your doctor immediately. Other signs of Lyme disease include fever, eye inflammation, joint pain, flu symptoms, neurological symptoms and severe fatigue.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that is spread primarily by the blacklegged tick, or deer tick. There are other ticks in Texas as well, including the lone star tick and the American dog tick. A lone star tick bite is known for transmitting Ehrlichiosis, Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI) and Tularemia, while American dog tick bites are known for transmitting Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Tularemia.

If you have ticks on your property and you or your pets are constantly picking them up, give the professionals at Holder’s a call today. Our professional pest management experts can help you control tick populations on your property to protect you and your pets from the dangerous diseases these ectoparasites are known to transmit.

Contact us today for more information on our tick control services and to find out what our pest control solutions can do for you in Houston and throughout our Texas service area.