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Experts across the United States have been predicting a rough tick season for 2021. All the way from the Northeast to Southwest, and everything in-between...ticks are supposed to be out there in large numbers this year.

Which isn't great news, since experts say tick season is here for the south.

Goudarz Molaei, Director of The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station's Tick Surveillance and Testing Program told Yahoo News:

"We have to be extremely vigilant. We're going to have higher than average tick activity this year."

The downside to a heavy tick season is of course an increased chance to contract a tickborne illness. Grace Marx, a Medical Epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Yahoo News that Lyme Disease is the main concern with tick bites. Marx says Lyme Disease accounts for 70% to 80% of all tickborne diseases. The CDC says almost 500,000 cases of Lyme Disease are reported every year.

Now Marx did add that Lyme Disease can be treated successfully in a lot of cases, but still, who really wants to deal with that?

In Louisiana, experts say there are at least 5 species of ticks that can be found. But only 4 of those can spread diseases, like Lyme Disease, to humans. The four ticks in Louisiana that can spread diseases to humans are the American Dog Tick, the Deer Tick, Gulf Coast Tick, and Lone Star Tick.

Experts say the Lone Star Tick is the most aggressive of these four, and one to really watch out for. The Lone Star Tick not only has the potential to spread disease to humans, but their bite can cause issues due to the contents of their saliva.

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