TOLEDO, Ohio — As many people start to venture out for the summer, health officials want to make sure everyone stays healthy, and that means checking for ticks.
Simple precautions like using insect repellant and covering your skin when venturing out into the woods is an easy way to keep them away.
"Long sleeves if you're going to be walking in the woods, make sure you check yourself to make sure you don't have any ticks," said Toledo-Lucas County Health Commissioner Eric Zgodzinski.
If you find a tick on you, your child or your pet, do not panic. Get a pair of tweezers, grab ahold of it as best you can and pull it up. Don't twist or jerk the tweezers and do not pour anything on your skin.
Once it's off, clean the bite area with soap and water.
You can get rid of the tick by flushing it down the toilet. And if you don't have any signs of illness, you're in the clear.
"If you start getting fever, chills, joint aches and a rash, those are all concerns for a tickborne-type disease," said Dr. Jeff Swartz, a family doctor with Mercy Health.
Additionally, pet owners should make sure their pets are taking proper tick medication as their vet recommends.