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Be careful: Blacklegged tick "on the move" spreading disease

Life stages of ticks.
CDC
Life stages of ticks.

It's tick season once again, and according to Michigan Radio's The Environment Report, Michiganders should be diligent when they're outdoors this summer. 

According to Rebecca Williams' recent story, the tick that we should be concerned about is the blacklegged tick. However, if you're starting to look for them now, good luck. They are currently in the nymph stage and are about the size of a poppy seed.

Williams' reportsays they originate from the west side of the state but they are "on the move" toward the east, and could have reached as far as Lansing by now. The ticks travel on animals and humans by "questing," which is attaching themselves to legs and feet and crawling upward in search of prey. 

Get ready for tick season with the full story here

You can also listen to the full interview below to hear some advice about what to do to avoid ticks, what to do if you you may have been bitten, and how to know if you might have Lyme disease. Listen to the full interview with Rebecca Williams from Michigan Radio's The Environment Report

Copyright 2021 Michigan Radio. To see more, visit Michigan Radio.

Josh Hakala, a lifelong Michigander (East Lansing & Edwardsburg), comes to Michigan Radio after nearly two decades of working in a variety of fields within broadcasting and digital media. Most recently, he worked for Advance Digital where he managed newspaper websites from across the country, including MLive.com. While his resume is filled with sports broadcasting experience (Big Ten Network, 97.1FM The Ticket, 610AM WIP etc.), radio reporting (90.1FM WRTI) and odd jobs (Editor for the FIFA video game series for EA Sports), he brings a passion for news and storytelling to the Stateside staff.