Headed outside for summer chores or fun? Before you do, take some steps to prevent tick bites. Black-legged ticks (or deer ticks) may carry Lyme disease and pass it to humans through a tick bite. You're most likely to be bitten in the warmer months.

Most cases of Lyme disease are in Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

How can I reduce my risk of Lyme disease?
During tick season: 

• Do a daily head-to-toe "tick check." Check your groin, armpits, navel, waistline, neck, scalp and backs of the knees.
• Avoid tick-infested areas. Wooded areas are more likely to harbor ticks, especially in May, June and July. If you're hiking in the woods, stay in the middle of the trail.
• Keep your yard clean and your grass cut short. Clear brush and tall grass outside your house. You also can contact a professional to spray your yard each year with an insecticide.
• When outdoors, wear long-sleeved shirts and closed-toed shoes. Wear light-colored clothing so you can spot ticks. Tuck your pants legs into your socks or boots, and tuck in your shirt. Keep long hair tied back, and wear a hat. Apply insect repellent containing DEET to clothes and socks.

How can I tell if I have Lyme disease?
The first symptoms may include fever, fatigue, headache, body aches and joint pain. These symptoms may last for two or three days. People often mistake them for the flu.

Most infected people develop a rash that starts about three to 30 days after the bite. The rash slowly expands over several days and may reach up to 12 inches across. The center of the rash may clear so that it looks like a bull's eye.

Without treatment, you may develop loss of muscle tone on one or both sides of your face (Bell's palsy). You may have severe headaches, neck stiffness, heart palpitations and dizziness and joint pain.

Lyme disease can be treated by taking a two- to four-week course of antibiotics.

Related Articles Lyme Disease Symptoms Associated With Lyme Disease Disease Prevention in a Spray Can Lyme Disease Risk Quiz How Is Lyme Disease Treated?

External Sources Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases. Lyme disease. Accessed May 22, 2008. Feder HM Jr. Lyme disease in children. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America. 2008;22(2):315-326. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Lyme disease - United States, 2003-2005. Accessed May 22, 2008. Wormser GP, Dattwyler RJ, Shapiro ED, et al. The clinical assessment, treatment and prevention of Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis and babesiosis: clinical practice guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2006;43(9):1089-1134;2006. Accessed May 22, 2008.

This article was reviewed and updated 08-01-2009.