{"id":155344,"date":"2026-04-02T12:50:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/155344\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T12:50:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:50:21","slug":"how-to-keep-your-family-and-pets-tick-safe-in-pittsburgh-this-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/155344\/","title":{"rendered":"How to keep your family and pets tick safe in Pittsburgh this spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019re exploring local green spaces, walking your dog, gardening or catching up on yardwork, spring is sure to get you outside. But all that outdoor activity opens you \u2014 and your home \u2014 to notorious pests that can carry diseases with them: ticks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania reports the highest cases of Lyme disease in the nation, says Nicole Chinnici, director of the PA Tick Research Lab<\/a>, a project of East Stroudsburg University\u2019s Dr. Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute.<\/p>\n

Chinnici says that the tick lab gets its most submissions from the Pittsburgh area, but infection rates aren\u2019t significantly higher here compared to elsewhere in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see them in every county, we see them in every region of the state,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

While ticks are often associated with spring and summer, they\u2019re prevalent all year long; most people think of them as warm-weather creatures because the increased outdoor time leaves them more exposed to bites. Deer ticks can go dormant during days colder than 35 degrees, but can reemerge as soon as the weather warms up<\/a>, even if only for a single day. Ticks are killed only when exposed to bitterly cold temperates (10 degrees or colder) for several days in a row.<\/p>\n

This spring is expected to be an especially bad tick season, according to recent reporting by Time magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most Pennsylvanians are probably familiar with the symptoms of Lyme disease, which include the bullseye-esque rash, fever and fatigue in the short term, with the onset of more severe symptoms if left untreated. The commonwealth\u2019s ticks can also carry other equally dangerous diseases: anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus and ehrlichiosis are the four most common in Pennsylvania next to Lyme disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many tick-borne illnesses out there, and the black-legged tick, which is our most common tick \u2014 it\u2019s about 78% of the tick exposure in our state \u2014 that\u2019s the tick that carries Lyme disease, babesiosis [and] Powassan virus, and it can have a co-infection rate between 5% and 10%, so they can carry more than one tick-borne illness at a time,\u201d Chinnici says.<\/p>\n

Babesiosis causes bone marrow to replace red blood cells \u2014 hemolytic anemia \u2014 which leads to flu-like symptoms and jaundice. Powassan virus causes fever, headache and vomiting, with severe cases potentially leading to long-term neurological issues.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no single method that\u2019s totally effective against ticks, Chinnici says, \u201cbut there are several things that you can do and, in combination, it\u2019s going to really help reduce your risk of exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Insect sprays and creams that include DEET (diethyltoluamide) or permethrin \u2014 OFF! Insect Repellent, for example \u2014 repel ticks alongside other critters, and can be used on clothing and boots.<\/p>\n

Chinnici says that tucking pants into your socks is also a highly effective prevention method.<\/p>\n

\"\"How to remove a tick using tweezers. Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a better chance of seeing them crawling on your clothes if they\u2019re crawling above your socks,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Even if these prevention tactics are perfectly implemented while outdoors, it\u2019s critical to perform tick checks before returning inside so stray ticks aren\u2019t carried in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To remove a tick, use fine-tipped tweezers to grab it as close to the skin as possible. Then, steadily pull it off without twisting or jerking to keep its mouthparts from breaking off in the skin.<\/p>\n

The most sanitary way to kill a live tick is by placing it into a container of rubbing alcohol or sealing it in a plastic bag.<\/p>\n

Aside from checking yourself and loved ones, Chinnici recommends checking pets \u2014 especially in winter months when ticks are searching for warmth.<\/p>\n

Pets, she adds, are one of the biggest sources of ticks getting inside a house.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur animals can get these infections too. Dogs can get Lyme disease; dogs can get anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you are outdoors often with pets, there is a vaccine for Lyme disease available for dogs, as well as topical or prescription chewable tick prevention measures recommended by veterinarians. <\/p>\n

While the Tick Research Lab works on a number of research projects pertaining to tick-borne illnesses throughout the state, its primary charge is \u201cpassive surveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lab is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to provide free tick testing to Pennsylvania residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re exposed to a tick and you\u2019ve removed it with tweezers, you can put it in a Ziploc bag and visit ticklab.org to put in your information,\u201d Chinnici says. \u201cThat will give you a laboratory identification number. You\u2019ll mail your tick in the Ziploc bag with that voucher form to our lab and then we\u2019ll conduct a free test once that sample comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lab tests for the five most common tick-borne illnesses in Pennsylvania and returns the results to you. A positive test result doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you have or will contract one of the diseases, but that knowledge is an important step in mitigating health risks.<\/p>\n

\u201cSubmit that as soon as possible so that you better understand what you\u2019ve been exposed to,\u201d Chinnici says. \u201cThat\u2019s really important for you with getting diagnosed and treated by your physician. Always keep an eye on symptoms and make sure you\u2019re practicing prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether you\u2019re exploring local green spaces, walking your dog, gardening or catching up on yardwork, spring is sure…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":155345,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1057,8238,73,75,74,70388],"class_list":["post-155344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-health","tag-outdoor-recreation","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-tick-research-lab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}