Warmer weather means increased tick risk in Sask.

People who want to enjoy the great outdoors during the Victoria Day long weekend are being reminded to watch out for tiny hitchhikers.

The Ministry of Health on Friday discussed the threat posed by ticks.

“When the temperature is consistently greater than 4 C, we know that ticks are going to start looking for their next blood meal — and that blood meal could come from a human,” Dr. Denise Werker, the province’s deputy chief medical health officer, said during a media conference at the T.C. Douglas Building.

The province wants you to take precautions to fend off ticks. Those include: Wearing pants, long-sleeved shirts and proper shoes; pulling socks over pant legs to prevent ticks from crawling up your legs; using insect repellents that contain DEET or Icaridin; showering or bathing as soon as possible after coming inside; and, checking children, pets and yourself after coming inside.

Werker noted that ticks like to latch on in specific areas of the body, including the backs of the knees, the groin, the armpits and behind the ears.

If the self-inspection finds a tick, the ministry suggests using a tick key or a pair of fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close as possible to the skin, then pulling slowly upward and outward with steady pressure.

In Saskatchewan, ticks tend to reside in tall grass or wooded areas. Their life span in this province depends on the temperature — which means they can survive longer in provinces with warmer climates.

That’s something Werker wants residents to remember.

“The life cycle for a tick generally goes in Saskatchewan from early spring to November; that’s when the temperatures are greater than 4 C,” she said. “But if you go to other parts of Canada, the ticks are going to be active all year round.”

Ticks can carry a variety of diseases, including Lyme disease. That ailment is spread by black-legged ticks, which aren’t prevalent in Saskatchewan.

According to the Ministry of Health, nearly 28,900 ticks had been collected and identified in the province as of Dec. 31. Only 71 of those were black-legged ticks — and only 10 of those tested positive for the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.

There has been only one case of Lyme disease in the past 10 years that was contracted in the province.

“The black-legged tick has increased in numbers in many parts of Canada, but not in Saskatchewan,” Werker said. “We do not have established populations of the black-legged tick in Saskatchewan. The concern, though, is that the black-legged tick can get carried in Saskatchewan by migrating birds …

“If you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time and you pick up a tick that has been dropped off by a bird that has been infected, you could come down with Lyme disease.”

The most common tick in Saskatchewan is the American dog tick, which isn’t capable of transmitting Lyme disease to people. However, Werker stressed that all ticks can carry diseases of some sort, so the ministry is urging residents to keep ticks at bay.

For more information on ticks and Lyme disease, including how to submit a tick for Lyme disease testing, visit the government’s website.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick