Hi Neighbors,
A colleague at work was just diagnosed with Lyme disease.  The disease can be difficult to treat, and obviously it is better to prevent it that treat it.   Moreover, our friend's veterinarian says that the mild winter will mean a heavy tick season this year.  
 
So – if you have outdoor pets (all dogs and some cats), please consider using something like Frontline or similar products to keep ticks off pets and out of the house. 
 
Also if you engage in a lot of yard work or have kids that play in the yard consider "tick tubes."   I just bought some for our yard at:     http://www.ticktubes.com/
They are also available through Amazon.
 
These tubes are set in the brush and shrubs on your property and have an insecticide (actually it has material inside it that rodents use to build nests and  is treated with insecticide.  Small mice, etc. are the primary vectors for ticks, NOT deer).   This material then kills the ticks that live on the mice, etc.   This greatly reduces the potential for ticks in the yard.   The more folks that use these in the neighborhood, the fewer ticks we will have.   April 1 is the date to start using the tick tubes in this area.

Deb Polk
 
"The gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile." Robert F. Kennedy address, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, March 18, 1968.