FLORENCE COUNTY SCHOOL eighth-grade students display tick kits available at the Florence County Health Department. From left are Samantha DeMuri, Madison Aubuchon, Anjuli White, and Jillian Robinson.

Florence, Wis. — The Florence County Health Department is reminding residents to protect themselves against ticks.

Ticks are common in Wisconsin, and can spread diseases such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and, more rarely, Powassan virus and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Lyme disease is the most common illness spread by ticks in Wisconsin. It has spread to every county in the state over the last three decades, and doctors diagnose it in thousands of Wisconsinites each year. In 2020,

Wisconsin had an estimated 3,076 cases reported of Lyme disease. In the past 15 years these average numbers of reported cases have more than doubled. Florence County’s reported cases increased from 12 in 2020 to 23 in 2021.

Many people who get sick from an illness spread by ticks do not remember getting a tick bite. The common symptoms of illnesses spread by ticks include fever, rash, headache, body aches and fatigue.

Most diseases spread by ticks in Wisconsin, including Lyme disease, can be treated with antibiotics. Call your doctor if you have worrisome symptoms and think you may have been bitten by a tick.

Tick bites are preventable. When spending time outdoors, follow these simple steps to protect yourself and your family members from tick bites:

Before going outdoors

— Use an insect repellent with at least 20% DEET or another EPA-registered repellent according to the label instructions.

— Use 0.5% permethrin products on clothing, socks, and shoes, according to label instructions.

— Wear long sleeves and pants, and tuck pants into socks and shirts into pants to avoid ticks crawling under clothing.

— Use a veterinarian-prescribed tick prevention treatment on pets.

While outdoors

— Walk in the center of trails and do not brush up against plants on the edge of trails.

— Avoid wooded and brushy areas with tall grass and leaves.

After being outdoors

— Check your entire body for ticks. Have someone check areas that you cannot see.

— Take a shower as soon as possible after coming in from outdoors.

— Place clothes in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any ticks on clothing.

When spending time outdoors, be prepared and take a tick bite kit with you as a way to prevent Lyme disease. A tick bite kit contains alcohol swabs, bandages, insect repellent wipes that contain DEET (i.e., OFF! Deep Woods), tweezers, mini plastic bag (to keep tick after removed for identification), and a small plastic pouch to store supplies and for easy carrying and access.

The Florence County Health Department will have Fight The Bite Tick Removal Kits available in the county for $1 at select locations. Call the Florence County Health Department at 715-528-4837 for more information or go to the website at www.florencecountywi.com.

The health department is on the first floor of the Florence County courthouse, at 501 Lake Ave. in Florence. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday. More information on tick bite prevention can also be found by going to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website.