A visit to a Virginia State Park is full of family fun. Whether you are hiking, picnicking, camping, boating, fishing… you will bring home many memories. A visit to one of our gift shops will let you select a souvenir of your visit. One thing we don’t want you to bring home is ticks.
Yes, it’s that time again. Warm and hot weather makes ticks more active and it’s more likely you will inadvertently take one home with your after an outdoor visit.
My husband seems to be a tick attractor. Just a walk through the nature walk near our home usually nets a few ticks. We are firm believers in daily tick checks. Most tick borne diseases are only transmitted after the tick has been attached for several hours to a couple of days, so the sooner you get the little devil off you, the better. Make it a game with your kids. In fact, anytime they have been playing outdoors, you should make it a practice to do a tick check.
This tick advisory from the Virginia Department of Health does a great job of explaining the symptoms for tick borne diseases. It also explains the best way to prevent them and the proper way to remove them.
If you are aggressive with checking for ticks after outside work and play, you should bring home only fond memories of your outdoor adventures.