Yes. Children are at elevated risk for tick bites because of how they play. They’re low to the ground and they like to spend time in the areas where ticks wait. And tick-borne diseases like Lyme can cause serious complications if not caught early.
Finding a tick on your kid is scary. You’ve probably seen the headlines about Lyme disease, which is prevalent in Connecticut. You don’t want your kid to catch it.
Kids, unfortunately, are likelier to run into ticks than adults. You’re probably not playing in the dirt, crawling under bushes, or rolling around in the grass. It’s probably been a minute or two since you’ve built a tree fort. These are all the kinds of activities that can put kids in areas where ticks engage in “questing.” That’s what it’s called when ticks wait with outstretched legs until a host brushes by.
The biggest risk to kids and adults are nymphal ticks. They’re tiny, about the size of a poppy seed, and they’re very hard to spot. Because children may not notice or report a tick on their body, nymphs can stay attached longer and increase the probability of disease transmission.
Lyme disease in children can present differently than in adults. The bullseye rash, while well-known, doesn't always appear. Fever, fatigue, headache, and joint pain are common early symptoms but are easily mistaken for a common illness. But if Lyme disease goes untreated, it can progress to joint inflammation, facial nerve paralysis, and neurological complications. Early detection and antibiotic treatment work really well for Lyme disease, and they reduce the odds of these severe complications coming to pass.
It’s smart to have a post-outdoor tick check routine. Check kids along the scalp, hairline, behind the ears, neck, armpits, waistband, and between the toes. These are places where ticks like to latch on. If you’re looking for simple ways to reduce the presence of ticks on your yard, check out this video on the 6 C's of tick control.
If you’re a parent in New Haven or Fairfield county, Mosquito Squad of New Haven - Fairfield County can help by providing tick control treatments. These target the shaded edges, garden beds, and play areas where children are most likely to encounter ticks. Reducing the tick population in your yard is the most direct way to lower your children's exposure.
