According to the Newtown Health District, late season ticks are still in abundance in local wooded areas. To protect yourself against Lyme disease, the Health District makes the following recommendations:

*Use personal protection (protective clothing, long pants and sleeves, pants tucked in, long hair tied back, and use of repellents if desired and used according to the manufacturers directions).

*Check yourself, your children, and your pets for ticks when you come in from the outdoors.

*If you find a tick attached, remove it carefully and properly with thin-tipped tweezers just behind the tick’s head — the place of attachment and pulling straight out.

*Disinfect the area and put the tick in a sealed plastic bag or container.

*Bring the tick to the Health District office where it can be sent out to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station for identification and possible testing for the spirochetes that cause Lyme disease.

*Do a tick check and check for a rash everyday. You may not remember being outdoors, or you may have missed a tick bite; its important to check daily for ticks and for a rash. Remember, not everyone who is bitten by an infected tick gets a rash, but it is important to be on the lookout.