As the weather gets warmer (and hopefully, dryer), you might be spending more time outside looking for fossils, minerals, etc. in the woods, fields, and quarries. One creature you may encounter is a tick. Ticks are arthropods, which unfortunately are vectors for a number of serious diseases. In Illinois, American Dog (Wood), Brown Dog, Lone Star, and Deer ticks are some of the more common species in Illinois.
Here are some resources to learn more about avoiding ticks, treating bites, and getting medical attention if you get do come down with any disease symptoms.
- Ologies Podcast with Alie Ward has a great episode on Ticks. BTW, it's a great podcast to learn more about any type of science.
- VOX has an interesting post about why there isn't a Lyme Disease vaccine. Spoiler, there is! Unfortunately, anti-vaccine sentiment has led to it being pulled from the market.
- The University of Rhode Island runs the TickEncounters.com website with great information about all things tick! Check out their blog Tick Notes.
- The Illinois Department of Public Health has information about ticks in Illinois. Check for information in your state. Check out the tick flyer.
