It's the tick season in Colorado. Here is what you need to know.



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In a photo of Wednesday, June 4, 2019, tick biologist Lauren Maestas places samples that he collects in these portable bottles filled with ethanol, which preserve the tick's DNA to find out what diseases these insects could be carriers.
Maddy Lauria / The News Diary via AP

The tick season is here, and a wet spring can mean that there will be more this year. To find out what you need to know to avoid tick-borne illnesses when you venture out into the wild, we spoke to Dr. Rachel Herlihy, Communicable Disease Epidemiologist at the Department of Public Health and the Environment. Colorado.

The tick season has started, right?

Yes, it's spring, almost summer, so it's the tick season in Colorado. There are many species of ticks in Colorado and the United States. The types of ticks that you have in your community are actually what determines the types of infections or diseases that you can potentially contract. There is a variety. Lyme disease is one of the most common diseases we think about. It is transmitted by a tick that we do not have in Colorado. Lyme disease is not something you'll catch here.

We have here other types of infections. We have an infection called Colorado tick fever, a less common infection called mountain spotted fever, another infection called tularemia, another tick-borne recurrent fever. There is also an unusual disease called tick paralysis. In fact, it is not an infection, it is a reaction to tick saliva that can occur.

This season in particular, hikers and health care providers in our state have heard a lot that they see more ticks than usual. We know ticks like humidity, so when there is a wet spring, it seems to favor them. Hopefully ticks will not deter people from enjoying our beautiful nature, but you can do some things to reduce your risk.

We see ticks in the plains, as well as at higher altitudes. The area you are in determines the ticks you will see. The tick we see most often at altitude is the Rocky Mountain wood tick. The ticks we see at low altitude are going to be dog ticks. We have the Brown Dog Tick and the American Dog Tick in Colorado.

Read more via The Denver Post.

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