April has arrived and ticks have come along with it.

Ticks are most active in the months of April and May as well as September through November.

The small parasites can be found in trees where they plan their attack by falling on top of people and burrowing themselves into the scalp.

Emergency Physician at Urgent Care Okotoks Dr. Mark Stubbs says if surrounded by trees the best way to prevent a tick bite is to cover up.

"We don't get them from our dogs, we get them from woods and they traditionally fall onto us. And so they are usually caught when we are hiking or are in areas with trees above our heads. Prevention is if you'll be walking in the woods, wear a hat or inspect your scalp when you get back from your hike."

Ticks typically aim for exposed flesh, bites have been found on shoulders or the upper neck but in most cases they like to hide in peoples hair and bite the scalp.

Stubbs says if they go unnoticed for just a couple days they are trickier to detach.

"We don't feel them when they bite us, they have an anesthetic that numbs our skin. If you come upon them within the first day they are very easy to remove by yourself with a pair of tweezers but if you come upon them in three or four days they're half buried and if you pulled all you do is leave them half inside of you."

If you can't remove the tick by yourself seek medical attention for help.

Stubbs says most ticks don't carry symptoms here in Alberta but it's still possible they could spread an infection.

"The most common problem we have with ticks is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, which is a rickettsial infection. It does cause flu like illness, body rash and can cause brain damage. The most dreaded one is Lyme Disease which started off in the eastern United States, it has spread to some parts of Canada but to my knowledge I don't think we've got reported fresh Lyme Disease in Alberta yet."

If ticks are found and detached successfully you can bring the parasite in to a medical center for testing but most tick bites don't result in infections.

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