written by OLC board member Phil Cox
Many of us are starting to spend more time at Ouabache Land Conservancy preserves and other outdoor sites, thus increasing our exposure to tick bites and infection from some of the diseases they carry – especially Lyme disease. Taking some precautions to reduce risks of exposure and infection from ticks can make your outdoor activities safer and more enjoyable. Ticks can be found in almost any location that has animals and vegetation, so completely avoiding ticks is very difficult.
Even though June is the peak month for the tick that carries Lyme disease, the black-legged tick (aka deer tick), may bite whenever temperatures are above freezing. Therefore, because the average high temperatures for Terre Haute are above freezing during the winter months, year-round vigilance is very important. In fact, there were 13 known cases of human Lyme disease from December 2024 – February 2025 according to the Indiana Department of Health’s Tick-borne Disease Dashboard. The total for Indiana in 2024 was 239 known human cases. Twelve (12) of those cases were in the OLC service counties of Clay, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, and Vigo. None were reported in Vermillion.
Here are some practices that will help prevent ticks from biting and passing disease organisms to you while traversing in potentially tick infested areas:
Wear light-colored clothing that makes it easier to see ticks and remove them before they get to bare skin.
Tuck in shirt-tails, tuck pants into boots or socks or use “tick gators” that are essentially a legging that covers where your pants and socks or boots meet or use good “old fashioned” duct tape.
Wearing a hat is another good precautionary measure.
Treat bare skin with repellants containing 20 to 30% DEET. Always read and follow label directions!
Treat clothing (not skin!) with repellants containing permethrin prior to entering areas with ticks. Once dried on the clothing, permethrin can still be effective after several washes (follow label directions). If you are in tick-infested areas a lot, you may even want to invest in tick repellent clothing that can be bought online. Some companies even offer permethrin treatment laundering services to professionally treat clothing that you provide.
Upon your return, inspect clothing for any ticks. Tumbling clothes in a hot dryer for an hour will kill ticks. Shorter times may be effective if the clothes are not wet. Don’t wash clothes first before drying, as ticks can survive being in the dryer when they are exposed to moisture first.
Do a body check for any ticks and shower as soon as possible after visiting tick-infested areas.
If you find a tick attached, remove it by using tweezers or a tick removal tool to grasp it as near to the skin as possible and pulling straight out. DO NOT just grab it by the body and pull it off, because doing so may potentially squeeze the blood meal back to your bloodstream, potentially transmitting a disease to yourself. DO NOT use hot match heads or needles, nail polish, gasoline or similar techniques to remove or smother the tick. Ticks that are removed shortly after they attach may not have the opportunity to pass disease organisms to you, so quick detection and removal are good prevention methods. Once the tick is removed, wash the site with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.
You can submit a photo of the tick and get a free tick ID by a tick expert along with guidance on best next actions to lessen your risk of future tick bites and tickborne disease from the University of Rhode Island. Their TickSpotters program provides users with accurate, timely tick identification information, as well as science-based risk assessments tailored to the tick that was photographed. For details, see: https://web.uri.edu/tickencounter.
To get your tick tested for diseases, it can be sent to Ohio State University for $49.99. For more info, see: https://buckeyeticktest.osu.edu
If you experience a bull’s eye rash (Lyme disease) or other rash, headache, fever, fatigue, and muscle aches and pains or other unusual symptoms after a tick bite or exposure to tick-infested areas, see your physician immediately and they can usually prescribe an antibiotic. And just because you don’t see a bull’s eye rash does not mean that you didn’t contract Lyme disease. Skin reactions will vary. Some people break out in the classic bull's-eye rash associated with Lyme disease or the spotty pink rash that spreads from limbs to trunk associated with Rocky Mountain spotted fever (a disease transmitted via the American dog tick). But others show no such reaction. "Using a rash is not a good diagnostic," said Dr. Catherine Hill, head of Purdue Department of Entomology. "What's important to know is that if you've been out in tick habitat or you've got a tick bite and develop these symptoms within two to 10 days, you should see a doctor and seek immediate medical treatment." Treatment is very, very important as Lyme disease can affect a person for their lifetime and most tick-borne diseases can be effectively treated with early detection.
Don’t forget about taking precautions to protect your pets too! According to the Companion Animal Parasite Council’s Lyme Disease monthly forecast, dogs in the OLC service area counties of Clay, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo are all at a high risk forecasted infection rate (from 6.86 – 10.62%) for Lyme disease -- except Vigo County is considered a moderate risk with a forecasted infection rate of 4.49% (https://petdiseasealerts.org/forecast-map/#/lyme-disease/dog/united-states/indiana).
Even horses can get Lyme disease, as I know first-hand from last years’ experience with my family’s pony. Daisy could not stand and could hardly move except to eat while lying down. Luckily our veterinarian was able to diagnosis that she had a “hot case” of Lyme disease that we were able to treat, and she is now fully recovered. I suggest that you establish a good relationship with your veterinarian to help combat Lyme disease for your pets.
There are several other ticks and tick-borne diseases to be aware of in Indiana, so below are some resources to check out.
Indiana Department of Health: https://www.in.gov/health/idepd/zoonotic-and-vectorborne-epidemiology-entomology/vector-borne-diseases/tick-borne-diseases
Purdue University: https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publichealth/insects/tick.html
Center for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks
Indiana Lyme Connect: https://indianalymeconnect.org
In addition, Tim McDermott, Ohio State University Extension, presented the webinar: An Update on Ticks for 2025. It was geared more toward Ohio, but is very relevant to Indiana too. You can view the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/@EmeraldAshBorerUniversity
I hope that you (and your pets) continue to safely enjoy the great outdoors, and remember to take precautions to reduce your risks of tick-borne diseases and see your physician immediately if you experience any symptoms.