Deyò Atizay Lander: Tanp cho pote soti tik bonè, ak san sa yo san pa distans sosyal pa distans sosyal

When temperatures spiked into the upper 70s in early April, grasses and clover hit a growth spurt, flowers bloomed and trees began to bud out.

Our early spring was welcomed during this mentally challenging time, but the fast warm-up brought ticks out a little earlier than normal. While doing yard work, bank fishing around ponds and streams, gardening, hunting wild turkeys or just taking the dog for a walk, be tick aware.

These bloodsuckers don’t practice social distancing.

A walk in the woods, or wading through chest-high dried grass and weeds at the wood’s edge, brushing up against low-hanging tree limbs or string trimming, is all it takes to pick up a tick.

Almost anywhere in rural Kentucky or along the suburban/rural interface where there are deer and high numbers of small mammals, ticks will be present.

Once they are on a host — human, a dog, or wildlife — ticks crawl around until they find a capillary close to the surface of the skin, painlessly pierce the skin and begin sucking blood.

Read the full article on Northern Kentucky Tribune's website here.