HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — Do you know how many diseases mosquitos and ticks actually carry? Combined, they can carry a total of 30 different diseases.
The best time to avoid most mosquitoes is in the afternoon, when temperatures are hottest and the insects rest in cooler spots. You always want to make sure you are taking the right precautions when it comes to mosquitos and ticks.
Mosquitos carry about 10 different diseases, but only female mosquitos can transfer diseases to people.
According to the Center for Disease Control there were 80,000 cases of disease transmitted by mosquitos reported from 2004-2016. Most of these disease outbreaks were from Zika, Chikungunya, and West Nile viruses.
Now, ticks are a little different from mosquitos, because ticks don’t have to be just females to spread disease. Though unlike mosquitos, ticks attach themselves to the body, making it more difficult to actually get rid of the insect.
Ticks have about 16 diseases they can carry and spread, some of the most serious ones are Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Colorado tick fever.
Humans are not the only host ticks latch on to, they also like to attach themselves to animals such as dogs, so it’s always important to check your pets for ticks as well.
This is why it’s important to know of disease carrying vectors and how to stay protected.
Tips to project yourself:
• Wear appropriate clothing
• After being outside make sure to check yourself and your pets for ticks
• When outdoors put on insect repellent
• Take a shower within 2 hours after being outside to help check for ticks
• Put dry clothes in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks
• For your pets, use veterinarian-approved tick collars or medicines to protect your pets from ticks