The Farmers’ Union of Wales’s Anglesey branch will be visiting the island’s Caergeiliog Foundation School next Friday (April 3) to raise awareness of ticks - not the satisfying exercise book marks but the nasty wingless parasites.
County executive officer Heidi Williams has arranged for Catherine Woodward, a veterinary surgeon from Bodrwnsiwn Veterinary Group, and Holyhead GP Dr William Roberts to give sound advice to children on how best to prevent, identify and treat tick bites.
"Tick Prevention Week takes place between April 6 and 12 and this all-important session is well timed just before the children break up for the Easter holidays and will be venturing outdoors in the warmer weather," said Mrs Williams.
Ticks are usually found on low plants and in leaf litter and are more abundant in late spring to early summer, and again during autumn, but they can be active all year round during milder weather above 3.5 degrees C.
Tick Prevention Week is an annual campaign organised by BADA-UK (Borreliosis & Associated Diseases Awareness UK). It is timed to coincide with the spring holidays when the weather gets warmer and more people get out and about.
"Tick numbers have been increasing," said Mrs Williams. "This is largely due to warmer winters, an increase in host animals (such as deer), and changes in farming practices.
"A greater number of ticks results in more tick encounters for people and pets and more cases of infection. Since 2001, cases of Borreliosis (Lyme disease) have trebled in England and Wales and increased in Scotland by a factor of eight."
Simple actions can deter ticks from biting us. If infection should occur, early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent any lasting effects.
This year, Tick Prevention Week focuses on children and making sure that they are tick aware too. BADA-UK chairman Wendy Fox said: "Ticks are a part of nature and there is no need to panic about them.
"However, we should be aware of where they are likely to be, how to prevent them from biting us, and what to do if we are bitten, because they can sometimes make us sick.
"Teaching children about ticks does not need to be scary. It’s no different to making sure they put on a seat belt in the car or that they don’t take sweets from strangers.
"It is very important that a child knows to come and tell an adult if they have been bitten."
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