This year is particularly bad for ticks, which are spreading and bringing the diseases they carry along with them.
Lone Star ticks, originally found in the South, have been expanding their normal range farther north and west. Something in the bites of some of these creatures causes what's known as alpha-gal allergy, which makes people allergic to red meat.
Blacklegged or deer ticks, common in the Northeast, South, and Midwest, can carry at least six different diseases. These include the very rare Powassan virus, which can cause permanent neurological damage or death; babesiosis, which damages blood cells and is a problem for the blood supply; and Lyme disease, which infects about 300,000 Americans a year and can cause meningitis or partial paralysis if it's not treated.
Experts recommend regular tick checks, wearing long clothes when hiking through the woods, using DEET to protect skin, and treating clothing with permethrin.