Summer is in full-swing, as is the threat of tick-borne illnesses. This season, Brian Kelly, tick control expert and owner of East End Tick & Mosquito Control and The Southampton Hospital Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center have collaborated with certified educator, April Nill-Boitano, to pioneer a tick education program designed for children.
The next session will take place at the Riverhead Library (330 Court St., Riverhead, NY, 11901) on Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 11 a.m.
The new program is presented by Boitano and features a puppet show with plush ticks and hand puppets in a small theater to portray to children where ticks live, where bites happen outside, and the importance of checking for ticks after outdoor play. Boitano also uses Barbie dolls marked with pink highlighter to show ‘tick-hot zones,’ the Ants in the Pants game and duct tape to demonstrate tick removal, tick tattoos to create a visual, and more. For older children, the program features videos and demonstrations with direct instruction. Length of the presentation varies from 30 minutes to an hour-plus, depending upon the audience and location.
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According the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 30,000 reported cases of Lyme disease in the United States each year, but estimate that 300,000 people are diagnosed annually. Studies show that 50% of ticks on the East End of Long Island are infected with the disease and that 70% of people who are diagnosed with Lyme disease are bitten in their own yard.
