When visiting trails, fields, and wooded areas, take precautions to reduce your risk of tick bites and tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease.

Tips for Staying Safe

• Stay in the center of marked trails & avoid brushing up against tall grasses & shrubs.
• Wear light-colored clothing so ticks stand out, and tuck your pants into your socks for added protection
• After your walk, do full tick check of yourself, children, and pets. Remove any ticks promptly using tweezers or tick key.
• If bitten by a tick, carefully remove tick and clean bite area. Monitor for rash or flu-like symptoms, and contact your
  healthcare provider with questions or concerns.

Common Types of Ticks

	Deer Ticks: Most common tick. Nymphs can be as small as a poppy seed. Deer Ticks carry Lyme Disease. Best distinguished by black legs.
	Dog Ticks: Brownish with white markings. Can carry Rocky Moutain Fever. Not known to carry Lyme but still should remove as soon as possible.
	Lone-Star Ticks: Least common, although appearing in MA more frequently. Carries Alpha-gal syndrome which can cause red meat allergy.

"Tick Talk" - A Free Virtual Community Event

Hear from the expert, Biologist Patrick Roden-Reynolds!

Patrick Roden-Reynolds is a Public Health Biologist for the Inter-Island Public Health Excellence Collaboration and Director of the Martha’s Vineyard Tick Program. His work focuses on education and surveillance of vectorborne diseases and their vector populations. Learn more and register today!