The first tick dropped off Mary Ramsden's dog and onto her kitchen floor a few weeks ago. She screamed and drowned the sucker.
Since then, it's been war at her house. Ramsden has plucked as many as five ticks a day off each of her dogs in woodsy Warrenville, Ill. She ordered a netted bug suit online to wear while gardening to avoid being bothered, and she doused her furniture with a natural peppermint oil repellent. Yet the bugs are winning on at least one front - they are messing with her mind.
"You think things are crawling on you," said Ramsden, whose friend reported finding a tick on her car dashboard the other day. "You find things on the dog, and you immediately start itching."
Ticks aren't the only pests to be aware of. There are a pesky array of bugs, varmints and infectious organisms.
Animal control experts say they are fielding calls about skunks, squirrels and raccoons, which can wreak havoc by burrowing under porches or invading an attic.
"Depending on where people ... see the animal, we try to assess whether this animal causes a health risk to someone," said Josh Fisher, office manager for ABC Humane Wildlife Control and Prevention in Arlington Heights, Ill.
"If the animal is just doing something within its normal realm of behavior and not causing a problem for anyone, we tell people to live and let live."
TICKS AND MOSQUITOES
Not only are ticks nasty little parasites, they can transmit disease. Health officials are especially concerned about the so-called black-legged or deer tick, which is largely responsible for Lyme disease. If left untreated, an infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ticks are found in and near wooded areas, tall grass and brush, and, with their bite, can transmit diseases such as ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia.
Experts are not sure why they appear to be on the rise.
"Some are thought to be spread by migrating birds," Adam said. "Another (reason) could be small mammals, such as mice and chipmunks, play an important role in their life cycle. If those small mammals are doing very well, the ticks are doing as well."
While the West Nile virus is not an immediate concern, experts warn residents to be vigilant.
It is hard to predict mosquito activity more than three weeks in advance because it depends on the weather, said George Balis, an entomologist with Clarke, based in Roselle, Ill.
"Once adult activity reaches a certain threshold, we do more of what people know as spraying," Balis said.
Critters such as skunks, squirrels and raccoons are busy having babies this time of year. When caught in a sudden rainstorm, they may also seek temporary shelter in unusual places.
One man called ABC Humane Wildlife to report that he had discovered a raccoon peering up from beneath the steering wheel of his classic car, Fisher said. The man had covered the car with a tarp to protect it from rain but left the windows open to avoid condensation. Fisher told the man to leave the nocturnal creature alone because it would probably move on after nightfall.
"We've had calls about raccoons found in boats," said Ariel Saxon, who also works for the company.
"When they are caught out in the rain, it is usually because they are traveling and going to their food site," Saxon said. "They will think, 'Uh oh, I'm too far from my food site. I'll just spend some time here until the next day.'"
Skunks can leave a more lasting impression with their sharp smell.
TREE CHOMPERS AND PLANT KILLERS
You may be charmed by the woodpeckers hanging around a favorite tree, but keep in mind they could be the first sign of the dreaded emerald ash borer, said Doris Taylor, plant information specialist at Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Ill.
"The woodpeckers are hearing the larval stage of the beetle," said Taylor, who answers questions from the public through the plant clinic phone line. She warns people not to use chemicals to treat for a disease until they are sure they have properly identified the problem.
For instance, she said, "Everyone sees pictures (of the emerald ash borer) and thinks it is the size of a grasshopper, and it's not," she said. "It's a quarter inch, if that. It's bright green and slender."
Owners should inspect their ash trees for a thinning canopy, suckers or new, young branches sprouting from the tree's trunk, or D-shaped holes in the bark or branches.
Japanese beetles, which are less discriminating about what they eat, are arriving now, Taylor said. They eat through leaves, leaving lacy patterns.
Experts are hearing complaints about the boxwood psyllid, a sucking insect that causes the leaves on an evergreen to curl up. Taylor suggested simply cutting off the tips of infested shoots where curled leaves are visible.
In Warrenville, Ill., Ramsden tries to avoid using chemicals to battle nature's pests but admits she finally caved and bought some bug repellent for the yard. With three Chihuahuas and two English shepherds, she said, "I was losing my mind."
"I tried another home remedy, and the ticks thought it was like dessert," said Ramsden, who also swears by a tick key, a small tool for removing the critters. "We are starting to win the battle a little bit."