Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Jill Sperling

Tick season

Ticks return to the Kamloops area

Apr 2, 2020 | 4:19 PM

KAMLOOPS— As businesses close their doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, people are heading outdoors to keep active and enjoy the fresh air.

But, there is another danger lurking in the grasses.

“The ticks have already made their appearance as of even a month ago, they were out quite early this year,” said Vanessa Isnardy, provincial coordinator with WildSafeBC. “We have two types of ticks that are typically found in Kamloops. The rocky mountain wood tick is the one that is most common in the Kamloops area. Both types of ticks, the rocky mountain wood tick and the black legged tick, both carry disease.”

The black legged tick can carry lyme disease but is not commonly found in the Interior.

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The insects can also cause tick paralysis in animals and people.

“It’s caused by the toxin when the tick bites, and it’s important to remove that tick quickly and then those symptoms reverse,” Isnardy said. “But if it’s left untreated on a pet or on cattle it can lead to paralysis and death if it’s left for many days.”

The peak season for ticks is between May and June and cautionary signage has been going up at city parks.

“This is the time of year that we go out to all of our trailheads and we put up our signage just to remind people that ticks are out there,” said Kirsten Wourms, natural resources crew leader for the City of Kamloops.

Wourms says people should take all necessary precautions when heading out for a hike.

Clothing should be tucked in to prevent access to the skin and hikers should stick to staying on the trails.

“The big thing that we find is ticks will climb up on grass, they’ll climb up on little shrubs, and they’ll sit there and actually wait for an animal or something to pass by,” Wourms said. “So, if you’re staying in the middle of the trail and there’s nothing brushing against you, it really reduces the chance of a tick getting on you.”

Removing an embedded tick should be done extremely carefully.

“You take a pair of tweezers and you go down as close to the skin as you can and grab towards the head and gently pull straight up, and by doing that it will actually sometimes pucker the skin, but it will release those mouth parts and then you can get the tick out,” Wourms said.

Before heading home after a hike, people should check themselves and their pets for ticks.