Warm weather bringing ticks to Manitoba earlier than usual
Following a mild winter with very little snow cover, experts say Winnipeg will see some critters coming out of hibernation earlier than usual, including ticks.
Kateryn Rochon, an associate professor in the University of Manitoba’s Department of Entomology, said researchers received a report of a blacklegged tick about a week earlier than usual in Manitoba.
“From year to year, it really all depends,” she said in an interview with CTV Morning Live on Friday.
“If it’s warm and there’s no more snow, you’re going to have ticks.”
In order to stay safe, Rochon recommends finding ways to keep ticks away from your skin. This includes wearing your socks pulled over your pants and tucking in your shirt.
If you do get bitten by a tick, Rochon suggests using tweezers to remove the tick.
“Go as close to the skin as possible. You grab onto the tick and then you pull up,” she said.
“That’s it, you just pull up. You don’t jerk, you don’t twist.”
Rochon noted that not all ticks are infected, so getting a tick bite does not necessarily mean you will get sick.
For those who do spot a tick, Rochon recommends reporting the sighting to etick.ca in order to help determine what type of tick it is. The website also helps researchers track what people find and where.
“You take pictures, you upload the pictures and we’ll tell you if it’s a blacklegged tick or not,” she said.
“If it is a blacklegged tick, we can give you information.”
Difference in ticks
Rochon explained that blacklegged ticks and wood ticks are different species.
She said if blacklegged ticks are infected with a pathogen, they can transmit it to humans. Wood ticks, however, which are common in Manitoba, do not transmit Lyme disease or anaplasmosis to humans.
She said they also look different, as wood ticks are reddish brown in colour with some patterning on the back, while blacklegged ticks are smaller and dark brown in colour.
Rochon added that blacklegged ticks have been in Manitoba for about 20 years, and can most commonly be found in the areas south of Dauphin.
- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagace.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Loblaw leaders push back on 'misguided criticism' of grocer as boycott begins
Loblaw's new chief executive, as well as chairman Galen Weston, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a push to boycott the company gains steam online.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
There's a limit to how much interest rates in Canada and U.S. can diverge: Macklem
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
Airbnb's Icons allow you to drift off in the 'Up' house or rest in Prince's 'Purple Rain' mansion
The vacation destination rental company announced a new category of 'Icons,' a collection of 'extraordinary experiences hosted by the greatest names in music, film, television, art, sports, and more.'
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.