Since then, I have carried a healthy fear of the horrid arachnids, and whenever I’m in “tick country,” I do a constant body check that looks as if I’m trying to smooth out my hiking pants.

Why shouldn’t I be paranoid? Tick populations are increasing, possibly a result of climate change, and tick-related E.R. visits are spiking across the country. And polls suggest parents are twice as worried about ticks as mosquitoes. They’re gross, they make us sick and we hate them.

But recently I’ve wondered if my anxiety about ticks is an overreaction. How much of a threat do they really pose? And what can I do to regain a sense of power over these pests? I asked experts how to assess the risk.

It really is all about Lyme.

Most tick-borne diseases are pretty rare in the United States, except one. Lyme disease is the one you are most likely to get — it’s 12 times as common as the runner-up, anaplasmosis. In some places, as many as 50 percent of adult ticks carry Lyme disease bacteria, and it causes the most people to become sick.

“That’s our biggest concern,” said Erika Machtinger, an entomologist and head of the vector-borne disease team at Pennsylvania State University Extension. “There aren’t vaccines in development for anything else; there is for Lyme disease.”

Lyme disease usually lasts less than a month and is generally treatable with antibiotics, especially if you start within 72 hours of being bitten. However, it can be easily missed or misdiagnosed. And even more frightening, symptoms sometimes persist and plague people for years, even after treatment.

Where you live really matters.

Most of the continental United States has at least one tick species that can make you sick. But not all areas have the same risk, and some tick-borne illnesses are far more prevalent.

In other words, where you live matters more than anything, said Jean Tsao, an ecologist and Lyme disease expert at Michigan State University. It might dictate what you wear on a hike and where you walk.

In Arizona, where tick-borne illness is rare, you might wear shorts and sandals through long grasses and just plan to pick the loathsome critters off. In Michigan, like Dr. Tsao, you probably want long pants (and a long-sleeve shirt while gardening), and you’d treat them with a fabric-safe repellent called Permethrin. You’d also wear socks with your shoes and regular bug repellent.

“I never walk into the woods with Tevas or Chacos anymore,” Dr. Tsao said. “And I wouldn’t say I’m paranoid.”

The ticks that most often transmit Lyme disease live across the Eastern United States, but the disease is most prevalent in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Rhode Island recorded more than 2,800 cases of Lyme disease in 2023, while Texas had only 27. Areas in states like Michigan that are seeing Lyme-carrying ticks for the first time tend to have less of the disease than places where they are more established. And while there are probably fewer ticks in city parks than in wilderness areas, they can live anywhere they have birds, rodents or raccoons to prey on.

I live in Colorado, which has a handful of tick disease cases every year. No expert would say I shouldn’t take tick precautions, but after seeing the data, the critters certainly fall down my list of worries.

The type of tick is also important.

Blacklegged ticks (or deer ticks) are by far the biggest carriers of Lyme disease bacteria. Lone star and dog ticks do carry diseases, but they are clearly in the supporting cast of the tick show.

A blacklegged tick has three life stages — three blood meals and three opportunities to pick up the Lyme disease pathogen. Adults are the ones most likely to carry it, and larvae almost never do. Oddly, most people get Lyme disease during the months when the nymphs (think of them as teenagers) are more common. That’s probably because they are smaller and harder to spot, especially in places we don’t want to check, Dr. Machtinger said.

The toilet is a great place to check for ticks by running your hand over your skin and looking closely, she added. “I know it sounds weird but it’s true. It’s the easiest way to,” she paused, “you can reach all of your crevices.”

If you find one while in Lyme country, it still might not be a species that puts you at risk. The first thing to do is identify it, either with a doctor, an identification site or state resources like a local university extension lab. (Stick it in a Ziploc or just sandwich it between strips of Scotch tape.) If it’s a deer tick and it’s been less than 72 hours, you can get a dose of antibiotic. Otherwise, monitor the site for rashes and look for flu-like symptoms.

Tick behavior matters too.

Lastly, it’s worth knowing a little about the ticks themselves. For instance, ticks can bite you anywhere, but they do like warm protected places, like the groin, armpits and backs of ears. If they find you on a hike, they are more likely to be on the lower half of your body; if you were gardening, they might have crawled up the arm, Dr. Tsao said.

And remember, they tend to be harder to spot on darker skin. “You have to get to know your freckles really, really well,” Dr. Machtinger said.

On the plus side, ticks don’t bite right away, so you can actually wash them off in the shower before they attach. And it takes around 24 hours between when one bites and when it transmits Lyme disease. Plenty of time to find it, pull it and crush it’s tiny, disgusting body.

Ticks die quickly inside a dryer, which is useful, as well as in the laboratory, which just makes them hard to study, Dr. Machtinger said. She added that after a few months working with them, ticks lose their ick factor and become almost cute. I won’t ever go that far, but with a better understanding of their true risk, I suppose I can live alongside them.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5754634&forum_id=2],#49131390)