Tick check: Here’s what to know about ticks amid continuing wet weather in Sonoma County

On a quest for its next host, it grips onto high grass until one dares to brush against it. Then it hops aboard, grasps skin and cuts into the surface.

At last, the tick has found its next meal.

Ticks — the sesame seed sized, eight-legged blood-sucking arachnids that can cause health issues in pets and humans — thrive in humid and wet environments. In Sonoma and Marin counties, they’re active year-round, but most commonly during summer and fall months.

With all the recent heavy rain in Sonoma County, local experts say it’s unclear if there will be an increase in ticks, but cautions those heading outdoors to remain wary since they may transmit Lyme disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ticks generally live two to three years and have four life stages, according to Bay Area Lyme Foundation. Ticks need blood from a new host at every life stage in order to survive.

“Since there are several variables, it is difficult to say exactly how increased rain will affect the tick population,” said Kelly A. Liebman, scientific programs manager of Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District.

Although the district doesn’t have data that links heavy rain to an increase in tick populations, Liebman said it could be possible. But changes to vegetation and animal activity (hosts) also contribute to an increase in tick population.

Ticks are found in Sonoma County parks, including Spring Lake Regional Park or Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, for example. They’re usually found in sunny, grassy habitats — those near waterways, tall grass, shrubs, tree trunks, or fallen leaves, according to the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District.

The most common tick species found in Sonoma and Marin counties are the American dog tick, Pacific Coast tick, and Western black-legged tick. (For a map of areas where ticks are found in Sonoma County, see interactive map.)

Protect yourself

There are several ways to protect yourself from ticks before, during and after being in a tick habitat, according to Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District:

• Apply a tick repellent to exposed skin that has one of the following EPA-registered active ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or para-menthane-diol.
• Treat clothes/personal outdoor equipment with an acaricide, pesticides used to kill ticks and mites that contains permethrin.
• Wear light-colored clothing (this makes it easier to spot ticks). Wear long pants, long sleeves, and long socks whenever possible (this makes it more difficult for the tick to get to your skin).
• Stay on trails (adult ticks are more abundant on the uphill sides of trails). Avoid contact with nymph habitat (leaf litter, logs, tree trunks, etc.).
• Tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks after you come indoors.
• Shower after coming indoors and carefully check for ticks.
• Properly remove any attached ticks immediately.

If you’re bitten

About 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year, according to the CDC.

Lyme disease is rarely fatal but can affect the joints, heart and nervous system. A tick needs to be attached for 36 to 48 hours for it to transmit the disease, according to the CDC.

Typical symptoms of untreated Lyme disease include fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash called erythema migrans, according to the CDC.

You can reach Staff Writer Mya Constantino at mya.constantino@pressdemocrat.com. @searchingformya on Twitter.