NATURE'S NASTY BUG

It happens every year. Those tricky ticks appear in early spring, hang around until mid-summer, then return in early fall and hang around until cold weather sets in.

Ticks are showing up in growing numbers and in wider geographic areas. The love to feed on the blood of your pets or you, and can spread illnesses such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

This spring has been perfect for ticks. There has been enough moisture for ticks to survive and reproduce, but not enough standing water to wash away ticks and their eggs. According to Ohio State's Plant and Pesticide Clinic, it has been a very good year for ticks. They have had a record number of reports of ticks and people have been calling who want the ticks they have found to be identified. Twelve species of ticks live in Ohio but only 3 can spread disease. That makes enough sense to treat all ticks as enemies. Here are some ways to makes ticks take a tumble:

1. CHECK MATE-During tick season, check your pet every day for ticks. Check the ears, tummy, legs and skin folds. Better yet, treat your pet with a flea AND tick product that is waterproof. Frontline Plus is a great topical product

2. WATCH FOR HITCHIKERS-Ticks hide in tall grass and weeds. Mow lawns short and keep weeds along perimeters kept as low as possible. Ticks love wet areas. Stay out of weedy areas where water may lay, marshes, swamps and reservoirs.

3. DON'T LET THEM MOVE IN-Ticks will not breed in your home the way fleas do, however, they are very hardy and can survive on clothing, bedding and even patio furniture that you may bring in from outside. Ticks have been known to survive the wash cycle because they hide in the folds of clothes.

4. TICK THEM OFF-To remove a tick, soak a cotton ball in alcohol and hold on the tick. Using tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Petroleum jelly and dishwashing soap will also work-this suffocates the tick. Don't just throw the tick in the trash or flush down the toilet-they can crawl back out if they are still alive. Instead drop the pest in a jar of alcohol to kill it.

For more information about ticks, visit the Ohio State University Extension at extension.osu.edu or the University of California at entomology.ucdavis.edu