REGIONAL— With the recent bout of pleasant spring weather, folks in the North Country are understandably eager to spend time in the outdoors. And while we’re still a couple weeks away from the explosion of mosquitoes and biting flies, another more dangerous pest is already stalking us when we’re in the woods, or even in our own backyards.
Black-legged ticks, commonly known as deer ticks, are typically active once temperatures begin to reach into the 60s, as we’ve experienced in the past week. Some, however, can be active in even chillier temperatures, as Ely veterinarian Chip Hanson noted in a recent post on the Ely Field Naturalists list serve. “We have been diagnosing tick diseases in dogs since late February,” Hanson noted. “We are also seeing a significantly increased percentage of those cases test positive for both Lyme disease and Anaplasmosis.”
Anaplasmosis is caused by a deer-tick-borne bacteria which causes fever, headaches, chills, muscle aches, and fatigue typically 7-14 days after infection.
According to Hanson, research has demonstrated that ticks carrying Lyme disease actually live longer and are more resistant to freezing temperatures, meaning they can be a threat even earlier in the spring (and later in the fall) than we typically expect, and that those ticks that bite us during colder times of the year are more likely to be carrying the pathogen that causes Lyme.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that health care providers have gotten better at treating for Lyme, which can be a quick dose of the antibiotic doxycycline when caught early. If unaddressed for too long, Lyme can become chronic and sometimes debilitating, so take deer tick bites seriously. The other common tick in our region, the dog tick, is not generally known to be a common carrier of diseases affecting humans.
Cut your risk
You can also do a lot to reduce your risk of tick bites by taking simple prevention steps whenever you’re going to be spending time outdoors. Jon Oliver, associate professor with the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, recommends using insect repellents that contain DEET. If you’re going to spend a lot of time in tick habitat, Oliver recommends treating a change of clothes with permethrin, a repellent and insecticide that is particularly effective on ticks. “Tucking pants legs into your socks can help keep ticks on the outside of your clothes making them easier to spot,” he said.
Oliver notes that the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases usually take hours to enter your body after a tick attaches to feed. Daily tick checks will greatly reduce your chance of getting Lyme disease even if you are bitten. 
If you find a tick biting you:
Use tweezers to grab the tick by its mouthparts where they enter your skin. 
Pull the tick straight off. Avoid crushing its body. 
After a tick bite, be mindful of your body’s health. If you develop a rash or flu-like symptoms, visit your doctor about the tick bite.
So don’t be afraid to spend time in the outdoors. But be aware of the risks and take the easy steps necessary to protect yourself.