Bad enough ticks are out and active now,
 but now there's a new "Kissing Bug" 
and it's heading north. 

 See video at https://cbsloc.al/2PUgqcC

If you do come across one of these kissing bugs,  Dr. Vivian Bellofatto of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. says don’t touch it with bare hands. 
Put on some gloves or grab some tweezers. 
Put the bug in a plastic bag and bring it to a local health department for identification.

CDC image
https://cnycentral.com/news/local/health-officials-warn-of-deadly-kissing-bug-04-26-2019
A bite by this type of bug carrying the parasite can lead to chagas disease. The first sign is often swelling around the bite, followed by fever and exhaustion that can last for weeks. Years later the infection can lead to a more chronic disease.

Already spotted in the states of 
Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Read about it at this site.

However, the transmission of the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite from a bug to a human is not easy. The parasite that causes the disease is in the bug feces. The bug generally poops on or near a person while it is feeding on her blood, usually when the person is sleeping. Transmission of the parasite happens when poop is accidentally rubbed into the bite wound or into a mucous membrane (for example, the eye or mouth), and the parasite enters the body.  
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_info/vectors/index.html

Best not to rub or scratch if bit - wash area first .
Courtesy CDC.gov





Be on the lookout for TICKS!
   Some can be the size of a poppy seed so remain alert.

The wet year and milder winter may lead to a greater surge of ticks and tick-borne diseases .

Watch this 2 minute clip from the CDC about 
Ticks, Fleas, Mosquitoes causing more illnesses.

Tips on avoiding a tick bite

Keep grass short and underbrush thinned and cleared of leaves at your home. 

When hiking, stay in the center of the trail. Avoid walking into any tall grass or bushes.

Wear long pants and long sleeves if you have to enter a forest or heavily wooded area.

Wear light-colored clothes to help you spot ticks easily.

Tuck pants into socks to keep ticks from getting under your clothes.

Apply EPA-registered insect repellent on your skin, clothing, boots and camping gear when outdoors to prevent ticks from getting on your body.                                                                                      

Use repellant that has 20 to 30 percent DEET on both your skin and on top of your clothes.

Check your body for ticks.  Check yourself, kids, and pets after going outside to these areas, especially your armpit area and hair. 

Ticks prefer damp and dark places.

Shower within 2 hours of being outdoors. 

If you find a tick, carefully remove it as close to the skin and it's mouth with fine-pointed tweezers. 
Grasp by mouth parts and pull steadily outward. 
Don't use petroleum jelly, chemicals or anything hot  as these may only make an infected tick more likely to transmit germs into you. 

The soonest a tick is removed, the less likely it is to transmit any disease.

Here are images of the varied ticks that bite humans and another of the varied infections they are known to transmit, beyond Lyme.

And be the on the lookout for the newst tick now surfacing in NJ -  the  Asian longhorned tick.


Good resources :
Facebook: TickEncounter Resource Center

https://tickencounter.org/PDF/PowassanVirus_TERC.pdf
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