Experienced Wyoming campers and hikers know to check for ticks between mid-March and mid-July. Ticks with Lyme disease can make you very miserable or even kill you. And while not in Wyoming yet, back east, in addition to Lyme disease, there is a new strain of tick borne illness called the Powassan Virus, which is a more deadly pathogen. If you're headed east for a vacation, be careful.

“This is a disease there is no treatment for and you can die from.”

In the affected eastern states the tick population is growing and the Powwassun virus is moving west. It could end up here in the Cowboy State eventually.

Be warned if your vacation travels take you to Minnesota and points east of there this summer. But even it you’re in the Wyoming wilds, take care to prevent Lyme disease.

Avoid high grass areas, Deet works well, wear long pants and sleeves, even tucking you pants into your socks to provide a barrier. Shower and carefully search each other for ticks, they are tiny.

To remove a tick, grab the tick by the head, as close to your skin as possible and gently pull the tick away and destroy it. Use soap and water on the bite area.

Don’t use a match or oil on the tick, it will just make things worse when the nervous tick squirts its nastiness into you.

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