How to Tick-proof Your Yard

Spring is here in the Northern Hemisphere, which means tick season (and allergy season) is either just kicking off or already in full swing, depending on where you are located. With more activity comes a heightened risk of tick-borne illnesses — the most infamous of which is Lyme disease, transmitted by the black-legged tick (a.k.a. deer tick) — especially if you spend a lot of time outdoors and have pets.

Many people know to be tick-aware on a hike or camping trip, "but maybe they are not taking the same precautions when they go into their own backyards," said Neeta Connally, a medical entomologist who oversees the Tickborne Disease Prevention Laboratory at Western Connecticut State University. Some research suggests the majority of tick exposure occurs during everyday outdoor activities such as gardening, barbecuing, playing sports and walking pets.

While there's been some good news lately — such as a new Lyme disease vaccine in development — climate change might also be increasing the range of ticks and the types of diseases they carry. "There are more ticks, and an increasing number of those ticks also have a number of pathogens, so every bite poses a much, much greater risk," said Michel Shamoon-Pour, co-director of the Binghamton University Tick-Borne Disease Center.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.