Do ticks in autumn really transmit Lyme disease in Russia - how do you protect yourself?
They say late autumn ticks are especially dangerous for transmitting Lyme disease. Is that serious? What should I do to avoid catching it?
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Lyme disease is indeed dangerous, but there's a mix-up about fall tick activity here. The infection risk actually drops by October-November, not because ticks stop carrying the infection, but because there are simply fewer ticks around. Protection is the same year-round: check yourself over after being in the forest, inspect your hair and skin folds, ideally remove a tick with tweezers by the head (don't crush it), and then send it to a lab for testing - that's way more reliable than guessing whether it's infected or not.
Actually, the danger from ticks decreases by autumn - their activity already drops in September, and by October-November the risk of infection is minimal. The main period is spring and early summer, when ticks massively emerge from hibernation. But if you do plan to go into the forest in late autumn, the protection is standard: covered clothing (pants tucked into socks, long-sleeved shirt), acaricide sprays, inspection after your walk, and checking at home. The most important thing is not to bring a tick into your apartment and to remove it correctly if you find one - then the probability of contracting Lyme disease will drop dramatically.
I agree that there are far fewer ticks in autumn, but there's one catch: if you picked up a tick in August or September and Lyme disease started developing, symptoms might not show up for weeks or even months. So even now, in October, it's worth keeping ticks in mind during forest walks and paying closer attention to your body - migratory red patches, joint pain, weakness. Standard protection is still relevant: check yourself after forest walks, use repellents, wear closed clothing.
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