Protection against ticks: How to avoid bites

Protection against ticks is important because: A tick bite can transmit dangerous diseases such as Lyme disease. Find out here how best to protect yourself from ticks.

Tick ​​bite or tick bite? The right clothing protects!

Contrary to popular belief, ticks don’t bite, they sting. Because instead of an upper and lower jaw, they have a kind of suction apparatus (hypostome). With this they suck the blood from the skin previously scratched with their mouthparts.

• Almost all ticks lurk at knee height in dense grass or branches. If you go into nature, you should therefore always have one, even on warm days long trousers put on. It provides protection from ticks clinging to your skin.
• It’s even better if you tuck your pants into your socks. This way, the ticks cannot dig under the trouser leg that has slipped up when you walk.
• Also sandals and T-shirts should be avoided when walking in nature. Better to wear sturdy shoes.

Tick ​​season begins with mild temperatures from February

Protection against ticks is particularly important during tick season. She lasts from spring to late autumn. As soon as the first warm rays of sunshine appear in spring, the ticks come out of the ground.

But because the winters in Germany are becoming milder and milder, the insects go hunting as early as February. If the temperatures remain mild in winter, the ticks can even the whole year stay active. It is therefore important that you protect yourself against ticks at all times.

Ticks transmit TBE and Lyme disease

The main purpose of protection against ticks is to prevent two diseases: Lyme disease and Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). On average, a Borrelia infection occurs in 2.6 to 5.6 percent of tick bites in Germany and Switzerland. A tick bite with Lyme disease pathogens is characterized by severe reddening around the bite site. In this case, you should seek medical help immediately. If Lyme disease remains untreated, it could lead to permanent damage to the nervous system.

Infection with TBE is more insidious because most victims don’t even notice it and the symptoms don’t appear immediately. There are two phases: About ten days after the tick bite, flu-like symptoms appear and TBE cannot yet be detected. Symptoms then appear again within 20 days in ten to 30 percent of those infected, and the infection can now also be detected. In rare cases it is fatal – but in most cases TBE can be completely cured.

Especially in southern Germany you have to protect yourself from ticks

Ticks love warm, damp and dark places. They sit on leaves, grass and branches and then latch on to their victims. Ticks occur all over Germany, but ticks with TBE viruses mainly in southern Germany.

The TBE risk areas include Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg as well as some districts of Hesse, Thuringia and Rhineland-Palatinate. Measures to protect against ticks are particularly important here, because: In these areas, up to five percent of ticks carry the TBE pathogen. Ticks with Lyme disease bacteria are mainly found in central and southern Germany.

detect a tick bite

After every walk in nature, you should check yourself thoroughly for ticks. You can spot the black parasites particularly quickly on light-colored clothing. But it is quite possible that, despite all precautionary measures, they are already on the skin. Ticks look for particularly warm and humid places. Therefore, you should always look for ticks in the armpits, back of the knees and genital area.

If you found one, you should Remove tick quickly. Because the longer the tick is in the skin, the higher the risk of disease. Tweezers are only suitable to a limited extent, especially for small ticks, as the animal is easily crushed with them. This can transport any borreliosis pathogens into the wound. You can pull the tick out yourself with** a tick hook, a tick snare or tick tweezers.

3 tick myths that can be dangerous

1. Anesthetize ticks with oil: Stun the tick with oil before pulling it out? Not a good idea, because depending on the oil, the tick vomits or suffocates, releasing pathogens in the process.
2. Ticks fall from trees: Biologically, ticks belong to the arachnids, but they cannot abseil from trees. They lurk in knee-high grass or on branches.
3. After the vaccination, ticks cannot harm me: You can get vaccinated against TBE, but not against Lyme disease. Therefore, despite vaccination, you should check yourself for ticks after every walk in the forest and take other measures to protect against ticks.

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