Aren’t there ticks in the woods?

Ticks are a very real hazard when spending time outside in the Hudson Valley.

Wild Earth staff and participants conduct regular tick checks as a group. We check in general places: neck, arms, legs, and scalp and ask participants to check themselves in their private areas.

Participants will be asked to find a buddy to help check one another’s backs, armpits, legs (outside the bathing-suit zone), behind the ears, and scalp.

Please familiarize your child with how to thoroughly check themselves and why it’s important to do so. Children who are accustomed to tick checks are more likely to do great job checking themselves during the program.

If your child has an attached tick during a program, our instructors will remove the tick and sterilize the site of the bite. When a tick is removed from a participant, our staff is committed to notifying parents about removed ticks by the end of the program day. Our instructors will have a written record of the bite location, species (if known), and notes about the removal process itself. Whenever possible, we will save removed ticks for presentation.

In addition to our “in the field” tick checks we strongly recommend a thorough, full body check when participants get home. Minimizing the risk associated with tick bites requires effort from all of us.

Want to learn more about ticks and tick borne illnesses? Take a look at these Resources for Tick & Lyme Awareness from our Executive Director, David Brownstein.

Additional tick information is available at: wildearth.org/ticks

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