Ticks are carriers of disease.
Ticks are dangerous pests that can transmit diseases through their bites. They hitchhike on a person or animal from their starting point of tall grasses or woodland brush. When they bite, they inject an enzyme that keeps the blood at the bite site from clotting, and they feed for three to six days if undisturbed. Then they fall off their host. When they get hungry, they catch a ride on a new host. They can transmit diseases like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Does this Spark an idea?
Children and Repellents
Children are prone to picking up ticks if they play outdoors often. While the average lawn is not very conducive to ticks, they may still be found there. If you live in rural areas near woods or fields, you many be more likely to pick up ticks than if you live in a concrete-surrounded urban center. Children are also more susceptible to having adverse reactions to the repellents meant to protect them from ticks, and care must be taken when using repellents on them. Safeguards like applying the repellent for your child, not spraying directly on the child, avoiding getting it on their hands and faces and washing it off with soap and water as soon as they come indoors are all precautions that help keep kids safer.
DEET
DEET is the most common, and many believe the most effective, tick repellent available. In small percentages of children, it has been known to cause reactions like slurred speech, confusion and seizures. The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that DEET in up to a 30 percent concentration is safe for use on children over two months of age, as long as the above safeguards are implemented.
Botanicals
You may think just because a product is all-natural or herbal it is a better alternative as a tick repellent. This is not necessarily the case. Some oils are safe for use on kids; they include lemon grass, citronella and cedar essential oils. Other extracts used in bug repellents have not been tested extensively for side effects and should be used with great caution. Always check with your child's physician before trying out a new repellent, even if it is considered natural.
Nonchemical Measures
Dressing children in long sleeves and long pants, tucking pant cuffs into socks and keeping children out of the areas where ticks are known to thrive are child-friendly measures that do not involve potentially harmful chemicals. You may also create a tick barrier around your lawn by laying down a minimum width of 2 feet of stone or wood chips. Elimination of tick-carrying animals like deer and rodents is also helpful in creating a tick-free zone. Always do a physical check of children when they come inside from playing; check the scalp, behind the ears and behind the joints, in addition to the rest of the child's body. Keep ticks off your pets, as well, as the pests can crawl from a loving dog onto a child during playtime.
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