Watch it! Living With Lyme: NH's Exploding Epidemic
(July 11 WMUR Chronicle show in six segments; click on Chronicle in lower left sidebar to find remaining segments)

Blacklegged ticks (formerly called deer ticks) are active now throughout much of New Hampshire.

New Hampshire is home to 15 species of ticks, many of which can deliver a nasty infection, but infected blacklegged ticks can transmit Lyme Disease a potentially serious bacterial illness.

"The blacklegged tick itself becomes infected with Lyme Disease-causing bacteria by feeding on an infected 'reservoir host,' an organism that carries high levels of the bacteria in its bloodstream," says Eaton. "In New Hampshire, the primary reservoir host for Lyme Disease is the white-footed mouse."

"The state monitoring program in previous years has found that half the adult blacklegged ticks collected in Strafford, Rockingham and Hillsborough Counties, and 20 percent to 50 percent in Merrimack County carried the Lyme Disease bacterium," says Eaton.

Protect yourself

"Although the risk of acquiring Lyme Disease is greatest in June and early July, adult blacklegged ticks are active now in many parts of New Hampshire," says Eaton. To protect yourself and your family, Eaton and public health officials offer the following tips:

• Perform tick checks after being outdoors. Inspect all body surfaces carefully (including scalp, hair, around and inside the ears, and between the toes).Removing ticks early can reduce the risk of infection. Remove attached ticks with tweezers. Grasp the tick firmly and as close to the skin as possible. With a steady motion, pull the tick's body away from the skin. Avoid crushing the tick's body.
• Try to avoid walking through tall grass and brushy areas, prime habitats for ticks.
• If you do walk into tick territory, wear protective clothing. Long pants and long sleeves help keep ticks off skin. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirts into pants to keep ticks on the outside of clothing. Tape the area where pants and socks meet so ticks can't crawl under clothing.
• Light-colored clothing makes it easier to spot ticks.
• Use insect repellent on clothes and exposed skin. Always follow the label when applying a pesticide.
• Don't use DEET on babies younger than two months old, and use a preparation containing less than 30 percent DEET on young children.
• Pressurized spray products containing the insecticide permethrin sprayed on clothing will kill ticks that attach themselves to the clothing. Never apply permethrin-containing products directly to the skin. Spray them on clothing before you put it on.
• After being outdoors, wash and dry clothing at a high temperature to kill any ticks that may remain on clothing.
• Don't try to remove a tick using Vaseline, a hot match, nail polish, or other products.
• After removing the tick, clean the bitten area with an antiseptic.
• Monitor the site of any tick bite for signs of infection, and monitor your overall health closely after a tick bite, staying alert for signs and symptoms.
• To reduce ticks around the home where people spend time, keep grass short, remove leaf litter, and create a wood-chip or gravel barrier where the yard meets the woods.

Public awareness high, self-protection low

Key findings from a 2008 survey conducted by the UNH Survey Center show that state residents could do more to lower the incidence of Lyme Disease in New Hampshire:

• Most Granite Staters have heard of Lyme Disease and understand that it is transmitted by a tick bite.
• More than half the state's residents look for and remove ticks after they've been outdoors during tick season.
• Less than one in 10 residents use all three forms of tick protection: insect repellent, wearing long clothes, and performing a daily body check for ticks.

For more information

Insect Repellents includes information on several new active ingredients, including some that work on ticks.

Biology and Management of Ticks in New Hampshire Comprehensive fact sheet provides information on tick-borne diseases, tick species and their life cycles, and tick control measures.

NHDHHS Lyme Disease information
Lyme Disease fact sheet

The 2009 Lyme Disease report from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NHDHHS) notes that cases of Lyme Disease in the Granite State declined somewhat last year. The highest rates of disease occurred in Rockingham, Hillsborough and Strafford Counties.

For specific concerns or questions about tick-borne diseases, call the NHDHHS, Bureau of Communicable Disease Control at 271-4496 or 800-852-3345 x4496 (N.H. only).

To have a tick identified

Residents who want to have a tick identified have two options:

UNH Arthropod ID Laboratory
Fee is $5. Follow directions on submission form for preparing specimen. Mail or walk-ins.

Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food No fee. Residents can also take advantage of this service by dropping off specimens at the NHDHHS Building at 29 Hazen Drive in Concord. Please read the submission form for proper preparation of specimen.

Note: Laboratories identify tick species, but don't test for the presence of disease-causing organisms.

Photo credit: Blacklegged tick, by Alan Eaton, UNH Cooperative Extension