With warmer weather and people across the state enjoying more outdoor activities, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is urging Illinois residents to take precautions against tick bites.

With tick-borne illnesses potentially leading to fevers, rashes, nausea, Lyme disease and even death, the IDPH provided the following tips to help avoid tick bites this summer:

• Wear light-colored, protective clothing—long-sleeved shirts, pants, boots or sturdy shoes, and a head covering.  Treat clothing with products containing 0.5 percent permethrin.  

• Apply insect repellent that contains 20 percent or more DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on exposed skin for protection that lasts several hours.

• Walk in the center of trails so grass, shrubs, and weeds do not brush against you. 

• Check yourself, children, other family members, and pets for ticks every two to three hours.

• Remove any tick promptly by grasping it with tweezers, as close to the skin as possible and gently, but firmly, pulling it straight out.  Wash your hands and the tick bite site with soap and water.

For more information, visit http://www.dph.illinois.gov/news/idph-offers-tips-avoid-tickborne-illness.