Deer ticks cause lyme disease and are found in grasses and low
     lying bushes on the edges of woods.  Adults are active in fall.
     Nymphs and larvae are active in early morning and late afternoon
     in May and June.  In late spring and early fall adult ticks seek
     deer hosts to feed. 
     
     
     Avoid ticks by:
     
     - tuck pants into socks to close openings
     
     - use insect repellent containing 30% or more of DEET
       (but over 55% may cause toxic reactions from DEET to wearer)
        
     - wear light colored clothes so you more easily can spot
       ticks
       
     - stay on well worn paths 
     
     - spray clothes with Permanone which repels and kills ticks
     
     - wear collars on shirts; collars block ticks from climbing 
       upward to neck
       
     - carefully search your body for ticks after coming inside
     
     - remove ticks immediately; use a tweezers, grab at embedded
       head and pull it away increasing force
       
     - wear plastic gloves when cleaning deer especially in fall  
       (also ticks may abandon deer after it is dead a while -
        dragging it a bit before cleaning may allow them to jump
        off)     
 
     Early signs of Lyme disease:
     
     - Characteristic red bulls eye rash, swollen lymph nodes, and
       possibly accompanied by headaches, fever, chills, and aches.
       
     Long term symptoms include:
     
     - prolonged arthritis, fatigue, short-term memory loss.
     
     Seek medical treatment if you notice these symptoms or suspect
     a deer tick bite.

     It may take a while (perhaps 15 hours or more) before attached
     deer ticks bite enough to cause infection.
 
     Deer ticks are smaller than regular wood ticks and the larvae and
     nymph ticks are smaller yet. An adult deer tick is about 1/16 inch
     long; A regular wood tick is about 1/8 inch long according to a
     measurement guide in the Wisconsin Hunting and Fishing regulations
     pamphlet.     

     You may get lyme disease from regular wood ticks as well as lone
     star ticks as well although the probability appears much lower for
     them.
     
     A tick can go almost a year without food. They look for small
     hosts when small.  As the ticks grow, they climb onto higher vegetation
     looking for a ride on a larger mammal.  They need two or three blood
     meals before they're ready to reproduce.  CO2 or close nearby move-
     ment attracts them.  A study done at Ohio State compared five ways of
     removing ticks: 1)covering with petroleum jelly; 2)soaking with
     alcohol; 3) coating with fingernail polish; 4)touching with a hot
     matchstick; 5)gently pulling with forceps or fingers.  First four
     treatments caused no reaction from ticks, last one got the job done
     without leaving mouthparts in the skin.  

     Permanone is not a repellent; it is a pesticide. One supplier is 
     Coulston International (215-253-0167) which only distributes through
     mail order houses at this time:  Buck Rub Archery, 157 Bank St.,
     Waukesha, WI 53188, or Leonard Rue Ent., 138 Millbrook Rd.,
     Blairstown, NJ, 07825. They also manufacture a line of permethrin
     (the pesticide in Permanone) products for pets.


    SOME SOURCES: Milwaukee Journal, 7/1/90, page A18
            Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources