Think West Virginia and beautiful wooded areas, rivers, and lakes come to mind, making the state a popular home for people and wildlife alike. Unfortunately, this natural beauty also attracts some unwelcome inhabitants.
Two undesirable Ohio Valley residents are ticks and mosquitoes. No longer mere nuisances, these insects carry Lyme disease and West Nile virus.
Lyme disease is an infection caused by bacteria carried by deer ticks. Infected ticks transmit the bacteria to humans they bite, resulting in fever, malaise, fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint aches, and other, more severe symptoms. Deer ticks thrive in moist, shaded areas with overgrown, low-lying vegetation. Hikers, campers, fishermen, hunters, and other people who are around wooded areas are at risk. more...