How to Protect Your Family from Summer Ticks By Jenna Sims Summertime welcomes the opportunities for sun-filled days, warmer temperatures, and countless outdoor adventures. Along with the warmer weather, however, comes the risk of tick bites and potential tickborne diseases. Tick exposure can occur year-round, especially if you live in wooded, grassy, or brush areas, but ticks are more active from April to September when temperatures rise across the country. In fact, studies over the past few years show that climate change has contributed to the expanded range of locations in which ticks can survive. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “Because tick activity depends on temperatures being above a certain minimum, shorter winters could also extend the period when ticks are active each year, increasing the time that humans could be exposed to Lyme disease.” In recent years, the number of reported tickborne diseases in the United States ranged from about 50,000 to 60,000 per year. The most common tickborne illness is Lyme disease, a potentially serious bacterial infection that affects
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both people and animals. Lyme disease can cause fever, fatigue, joint pain, and rash, in addition to more serious joint and nervous system issues. While Lyme disease cases have been reported in almost all states, the most common US regions are the Northeast, upper Midwest, and northwestern states.
