Prevent tick and Mosquito Bites
Bites from mosquitoes and ticks can make you sick! Mosquitoes and ticks can spread germs that cause diseases like West Nile and Lyme disease. Anyone bitten by mosquitoes and ticks is at risk of getting sick from the germs they can spread.
Ticks can transmit germs (bacteria, viruses, and parasites) that cause diseases in people and animals.
Ticks can be found in grassy, brushy, wooded areas, or even on animals.
The most common human diseases are Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis.
The most common symptoms are fever, chills, aches, pain, and rash.
Ticks
Tick exposure can occur year-round, but ticks are most active during warmer months (April-September).
Avoid tall grass and over-grown, brushy areas.
Use an EPA-registered insect repellent according to manufacturer’s instructions.
When in wooded areas tuck pant leg into socks, wear long-sleeved shirts, light-colored clothing, and closed shoes.
Check your clothes, body, and gear after returning indoors.
Shower soon after being outdoors using a washcloth to remove any unattached ticks.
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station offers tick testing at no cost to CT residents. Please note that the program is intended for the identification and/or testing of ticks which have fed on humans. Ticks removed from pets will be identified, but not tested.
QVHD may submit through mail ticks on behalf of residents for a nominal fee. Please note that you can submit tick samples directly to Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, which is a less than 5 miles from our office.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are common, flying insects that live in most parts of the world.
Only female mosquitoes feed on people and animals to get a blood meal and produce eggs.
Mosquitoes get infected with germs, such as viruses and parasites, when they feed on infected people and animals.
Examples of common mosquito-borne human diseases in CT are Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile Virus, and Jamestown Canyon Virus.
Always use EPA-registered insect repellents .
Wear loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and pants.
Wear clothing and gear treated with permethrin, an insecticide that kills or repels mosquitoes.
Use screens on windows and doors. Repair holes in screens to keep mosquitoes outdoors.
Once a week, empty and scrub, turn over, cover, or throw out items that hold water, such as tires, buckets, toys, pools, birdbaths, flowerpot saucers, or trash containers
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station conducts mosquito trapping across the state during June through October. Mosquitoes are tested for viruses that can cause human disease, including those found in Connecticut such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus, Jamestown Canyon virus, and West Nile virus