Westchester warns against ticks and mosquitoes

<p>Westchester County officials are trying to prevent you from getting Lyme disease and the Zika virus.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

May 24, 2017, 5:22 PM

Updated 2,539 days ago

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Westchester warns against ticks and mosquitoes
Westchester County officials are trying to prevent you from getting Lyme disease and the Zika virus.
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino joined county health officials today in at the Marshlands Conservancy in Rye to share advice on how to keep the ticks and mosquitoes away from you and your children and pets.
Astorino says checking often is a key when you have been outside. “If you get a tick on you, you have 24 hours before you'll be infected,” says Astorino. Experts say you can easily mistake a tick for a freckle. These freckle-sized carriers of Lyme disease can cause debilitating symptoms but it's all preventable.
Health officials say to pay particular attention to under your arms, belly button, legs, ears, and on your head. They also recommend if you're heading into the woods to cover up in light-colored clothes, wear long sleeves and pants, wear boots and not open-toed shoes, and don't leave home without your Deet.
As for mosquitoes, they say keep standing water off of your property to prevent breeding. “It can be as small as a Coca Cola bottle or a planter or above your head in your gutters," says County Health Commissioner Sherries Amler.
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