Tick Season

You’ve been to various hiking or biking trailheads at the park.  You’ve seen the notice about preventing Lyme disease.  Well, folks, the weather notwithstanding, it’s spring and that means tick season.  There are three ticks to watch for here: Blacklegged (a.k.a. Deer Tick), Lone Star and American Dog (a.k.a. Wood Tick).  The Black-legged is the smallest and the one which transmits Lyme disease.  The other two can also transmit diseases.  On a warm day, these spider-relatives hang out on the tips of grasses and shrubs (in a position known as "questing") waiting to ambush unsuspecting passers-by.  By all means, get out and enjoy the woods, but brush up on your tick-avoidance skills and do a careful tick check when you are back home.  For more information visit ww.vdh.virginia.gov/TickBrochure.

--Ben