If you find any ticks you need to remove them as soon as possible. A few things regarding removal of ticks:

- Crawling ticks can be easily removed by hand. They will not bite.

- Attached ticks may be removed with fingers shielded by a paper towel or tissue or by grasping firmly with tweezers crosswise as CLOSE TO THE JOINT OF ATTACHMENT as possible. Pull the tick steadily outward without twisting or jerking so that the mouth parts, which are imbedded in the skin, do not break off.

- If the mouth parts of the tick DO break off, consult your physician.

- Do not kill the tick while it is still attached to the skin (if you can). Dispose of the tick by dropping into alcohol or flushing it down the toilet.

- Apply antiseptic to the site of the bite.

Be alert for any symptoms which may appear after the bite (between 2 and 12 days). Symptoms may include: an expanding red ring around the bite; fever and headache followed by a generalized skin rash; chills; sore at the site of the bite; swollen, painful lymph nodes. If any of these symptoms occur, consult your physician immediately.

For further information on some of the diseases these nasty things carry, please consult WebMD at the links below:

Rocky Mountain Fever

Lyme Disease

Tularemia

Babesiosis