Tick season is upon us. With the mild winter we had, we are likely to see a larger tick population this year.
Ticks are tiny, eight-legged creatures that can carry disease. In Michigan, the primary concern is Lyme disease.
This is the time to be vigilant about monitoring for ticks especially as students return from the outside. As a school district we are unable to spray broadly for tick prevention due to Michigan state law. Here are a few prevention strategies.
1. Students should avoid wooded areas and areas with taller grass.
2. Students may bring topical tick prevention to school, but must be able to apply it themselves. Any topical prevention should be EPA-registered and contain at least 60 percent DEET to be effective.
3. Students should be checked daily for ticks.
I wanted to provide you with resources that you can share with your staff and families.
From CDC https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/index.html
From Oakland County Health Department https://www.oakgov.com/community/health/health-a-z/information-a-z/ticks
Michigan Health and Human Services https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/safety-injury-prev/environmental-health/topics/mitracking/ticks