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Community Corner

Tick Season Survival Guide: Know Your Ticks

To protect yourself from tick-borne diseases, know what you're up against: This video from the Martha's Vineyard Boards of Health tells you what ticks are doing when.

There's a new crop of ticks on Martha's Vineyard, newly hatched this month and hungry for blood.

Adult ticks are also out in force, each with an appetite of its own.

Both generations are on the scene at the same time because ticks have a two-year life cycle, says Sam R. Telford III, a professor of infectious diseases at Tufts University.

In this video from the Martha's Vineyard Boards of Health Tick-Borne Illness Program, Telford explains that ticks are active and the risk of infection exists whenever temperatures are warm enough for humans to go out without gloves.

For more about ticks and tick-borne diseases on the Vineyard, please see:

Tick Season Survival Guide: 5 Things to Know About Ticks
Tick Season Survival Guide: Symptoms and Treatment of Infection
Preventing Lyme Disease After a Bite
How to Tick-Proof Your Yard
How to Remove a Biting Tick

What's your experience with ticks and tick-borne illnesses? Please tell us in the comments.

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