How to Deal with Pesky Bugs

How do you cope with head lice, ticks, and mosquitoes when it comes to your children? We want to educate our kids to understand how to avoid these bugs, what to watch for, and finally what to do if they ever come into contact with the bugs. As parents we want to keep these pests at bay so they do not affect our families. This is not always the case and most parents find themselves picking head lice out of hair or putting medicine on itchy sores. In some cases there can be allergic reactions to bug bites. Be ready for anything when it comes to the care of your children.

Mosquitoes

Occasionally these bugs will carry viruses and can make children as well as adults very sick.

What to Teach Your Child
- Mosquitoes breed in standing water so they need to avoid these areas
- These bugs tend to come out at dusk and dawn avoiding the daytime hours
- Bites resemble small areas about 1/3 of an inch round that are red, raised, and itch
- If the child experiences anything besides the bite you described (example; oozing, swelling, shortness of breath) he or she needs to find an adult immediately

How to Treat the Bites
Simply apply .5% or 1% hydrocortisone cream, calamine lotion, or baking soda paste

Ticks

Most tick bites are harmless but some ticks can carry diseases like Lyme disease. Educate yourself with the symptoms and signs of the diseases so when your child tells you they have or had a tick on them you know what to watch for.

What to Teach Your Child
- Ticks like wooded areas, tall grass, and leaf piles so they need to avoid these areas
- Dress in a hat, long sleeves, and pants; tucking the end of your pants into your socks
- If the child gets a tick they need to come to you or another adult for removal, they should not try to remove the tick themselves

How to Treat a Tick Bite
When you go to remove the tick make sure and get the head out as well. After the removal is complete clean the area fully.

Head Lice

Most parents forget about washing carpets and furniture after a lice infestation. Also, put stuffed animals and other unwashable items in a Ziploc bag for 3 weeks. This is important to remember so you do not get a reoccurrence.

What to Teach Your Child
- Lice like to live in group settings so the child needs to know what he or she can and cannot do
- Do not share hats, brushes, barrettes, helmets, hair ties, bandannas, ribbons, scarves, or anything else people use on their heads
- Head lice are itchy and can cause a rash on the scalp
- The bugs are small and grey; they lay eggs in your hair that can be hard to see
- Tell an adult if you suspect head lice

How to Treat Head Lice
Wash and sanitize every fabric surface in your home. This includes cleaning the carpets and furniture, washing clothes and bed linens, throwing out hair brushes, removing vacuum bags and placing in large Ziploc baggies before throwing in the trash. Removal from hair can be the difficult process of getting Head Lice. Get any over the counter lice removal shampoo and fine tooth comb. Follow the directions carefully on the side of the box and treat your child's head. Run a fine tooth comb over your child's head removing the eggs that are still attached to the hairs.