Ticks are a fact of life in countryside in North Carolina.

"Patient, efficient and occasionally deadly, ticks are common parasites all across North Carolina. they do not, however, have to ruin your time outdoors." says Clyde E. Sorenson, an associate professor of entomology at N.C. State University and a regular contributor to the magazine WildLife in North Carolina in a great article on ticks, which, with the kind permission of the author and the magazine, is reproduced here (pdf, 217KB).