Ticks are back — Dartmouth Health gives tips to stay safe from Lyme disease

LEBANON — While a mild winter in northern New England can seem like a good thing at the time, it often has the unfortunate side effect of ticks returning earlier than usual. It’s not even June and residents of New Hampshire and Vermont are already seeing deer ticks — which carry the bacteria which causes Lyme disease — in the wild, in their pets’ fur and on themselves.

A tick doesn’t hurt when it bites, and deer ticks are so tiny that they can go unnoticed on the body until they become engorged, or not at all — unless the host develops Lyme symptoms.