As COVID-19 restrictions ease and more natural areas are opened to hikers and campers, it’s important to remember another potential threat to your health: ticks.

U of G tick expert Prof. Katie Clow spoke to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo about protecting yourself from tick bites.

“The most important thing to know is where you’re going to find ticks, so you can avoid that habitat,” said Clow, a population medicine professor in the Ontario Veterinary College.

Black-legged ticks, carriers of Lyme disease, tend to stay inside forested areas, especially in bushy places. Clow recommends hikers stay on marked trails away from those areas.

Cover up bare skin, wear light-coloured clothes, use DEET and thoroughly check all parts of the body for ticks when you get home. Check pets as well.