Preventing Lyme disease

Protect yourself

The best protection against ticks while you're out roaming is to wear long pants and long sleeves, tuck your pants in your socks, and wear a repellant that has DEET in it. If you find a tick on your skin, use tweezers and pull it straight out. Smith says there's one sure way to kill any hiding of these hitchhikers in your clothes.

"Put the clothes in the dryer for about 35 minutes and that will dehydrate and kill any ticks that are on those clothes," Smith says. "They can survive washing but the dryer is different because they have to remain moist. So that's why the dryer is deadly to them."

Learn more:

Keep safe from Lyme disease: Here are more tips for keeping your family and your pets safe from this tick-borne disease.

Lyme disease vaccine: Are you a candidate for this preventive measure? Find out here.