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Ticks place themselves on the ends of branches or leaves, normally along pathways where there is a steady traffic of people or animals or people walking by.

Once a person brushes past a shrub or bush where a tick is, they will use their barbed snouts to leave a tiny incision in your skin.

Then, they insert their head to suck your blood. Once the head is inserted in the skin, pulling on the tick will only separate the head from the body, leaving the head embedded in your skin.

This means that you can’t get rid of the tick unless the head is out. Ticks cause Lyme disease Ticks are a big problem because they can carry a serious disease called Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that will first manifest itself by symptoms such as fever, depression, headaches, fatigue, and a circular skin rash. If Lyme disease isn’t identified early, later symptoms may affect your heart, joints, and nervous system.

However, if you notice the infection early on, taking antibiotics will typically eliminate the problem.

Wearing light-colored and tight clothing is ideal when going outdoors in preventing ticks. Make sure that your clothing covers your arms and legs.

The light color will help you to identify a tick if it tries to attach itself. Tight clothing is recommended since it makes it more difficult for a tick to cling to your clothing.

Try to identify the types of plants that are on the pathway. Familiarize yourself with the different types of plants that animals that are native to the area avoid.

Generally, if animals avoid pathways, ticks will usually be scarce in that location. Use insect repellent or natural repelling oils. Make it a habit to use insect repellent on your skin and clothes to avoid ticks.

This will help discourage ticks from clinging to you. Another good repellent is eucalyptus oil or Neem oil. Ticks hate the smell of both of these oils and it will discourage them from clinging to your skin.

Check for ticks periodically while you are hiking It is a good practice to periodically check your clothing and skin for ticks as you hike. This will help you brush off any ticks before they cling to you.

The proper way to remove ticks that are attached If you find a tick that has already embedded its head into your skin, don’t panic. Get a lighter or match and heat up a small piece of metal such as a needle.

Once the metal is hot, place the needle on the end of the tick’s buttocks.

This will cause the tick to alarm and pull its head out of your skin. Whatever you do, do not pull the tick out before the head is free, the head will simply detach from the body. It is much more difficult to remove the head once it’s embedded in the skin.