Preventing Tick Bites

It is not usually feasible to control ticks in nature, especially since they are most common in our parks and open spaces. Instead, you can reduce your risk of tick-borne illness by avoiding tick bites, and removing ticks properly if you are bitten.

A person is outside in a grassy area near some green trees. The person is facing away from the camera. The person has long, light-colored hair, a white long-sleeve shirt, and a backpack. The person is holding a container of bug repellent and spraying the exposed skin on their arm.

Tick Prevention

The best way to reduce your risk of tick-borne illness is to avoid being bitten by a tick.

Poster with the silhouette of a person's body, with arrows pointing to all the areas you should be sure to check for ticks: scalp, behind ears, back of neck, armpits, belly button, groin, and behind knees.

Tick Check

After outdoor activities in areas where there may be ticks, check yourself, your children, your pets, and your gear carefully for ticks.

A computer-generated image of a zoomed-in view of someone's skin and hair. There is a black and brown tick attached to the skin. A pair of fine-tipped tweezers grabs the tick very close to the skin to pull the tick up and out of the skin.

Tick Removal

Promptly removing a tick can reduce your chances of becoming infected with a tick-borne disease. Always check yourself for ticks after outdoor activity. If you find a tick on you, remove it right away. In most cases, a tick removed within 48 hours of attachment will not transmit disease.

FAQS about TICKS

Different kinds of ticks can carry different diseases. Not all tick-borne diseases are found in ticks in San Mateo County. You can learn more on our tick-borne disease page.

Preventing Ticks in Your Yard

If you or your pet are getting ticks in your own yard, there are things you can do make the environment less hospitable to ticks. However, you should still continue to take precautions against tick bites, including checking for ticks after going outdoors.

More Information About Ticks

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) webpage has extensive information on protecting outdoor workers from tick-borne disease.

Website Accessibility Policy

San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District is fully committed to providing accessible facilities, elements and channels of communication to all members of the public. As part of this commitment, San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District has a policy of providing an accessible website compatible with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and commercial screen reading software. All features of the website are coded to allow individuals with vision and other impairments to understand and use the website to the same degree as someone without disabilities. We welcome feedback and can often resolve issues in a timely manner if they arise.

If you need any special assistance or accommodations:

Call us at 6503448592

Ongoing Compliance Information

Compliance Officer

San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District has designated a compliance officer for website disability-related accommodations. The compliance officer has received training in website accessibility and updates the site in accordance with those best practices. Contact our accessibility officer to report an issue.

Compliance Procedures and Reports

In addition to testing with users with a wide range of disabilities and coding our website to WCAG standards, San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District regularly scans its website to ensure ongoing compliance, and makes timely changes to any inaccessible changes, if any are found.

Linked Documents and Third Parties

Please note that this site may link out to third-party websites, such as state or federal agencies, that do not have accessible content. This site may also include documents provided by third parties included in our agenda packets, for example. While we cannot control the accessibility of content provided by third parties, we are happy to assist any member of the public with reading and accessing content on our site.

See an opportunity for us to improve? Please contact our accessibility officer or call us at 6503448592.

Report a Website Accessibility Issue

We are committed to your ability to access all content, and we will respond to all requests as soon as possible.