The world didn't know about Lyme disease until two concerned Connecticut mothers reported what appeared to be a cluster of children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in 1975. A study by Yale University found 39 children with similar symptoms.

Eventually it was learned that the infected population had been bitten by black-legged ticks (deer ticks). The disease has spread so rapidly that by 2002, there were more than 23,000 Lyme disease infections reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The American Lyme Disease Foundation, www.aldf.com, blames the spread of the disease on the huge increase in the U.S. deer population, from about 500,000 in 1900 to about 30,000,000 today. The increased popularity of outdoor recreation and suburban sprawl combines with the deer population explosion to increase exposure to the disease.

According to the CDC, Lyme disease is just one of 11 different diseases spread by ticks in the U.S. Michigan currently has 3 tick-borne diseases: Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia. A fourth, ehrilichiosis, has been diagnosed in nearby Wisconsin and Minnesota.

If you want to know about the medical problems associated with these diseases, check out "Tick Tips" on the CDC Web site ( www.cdc.gov/ncidod/ticktips2005/) and "Emerging Disease Issues" on the Michigan.gov Web site ( www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/). The Michigan site also has an excellent brochure, "Tick Borne Illnesses In Michigan" available for downloading.

Each disease in this article is spread by specific families of ticks. Lyme disease is spread by deer ticks known as the black-legged tick Ixodes scapularis in the Midwest and Northeast and by the western black-legged tick Ixodes pacificus on the West Coast.

With all this risk exposure, we need to learn how to safeguard our homes and families from ticks.

Tim Gamble, All Seasons Pest Control, (734) 285-3200, says that he has not found tick problems in Metro Detroit but has found them as close as Jackson and Adrian.

Paul LeBuhn, Maple Lane Pest Control, (800) 870-7096, says his company already has had to spray houses for tick infestation. The infestation was caused by pregnant ticks being brought back from up north or the western part of the state.

If you discover ticks inside a house, LeBuhn recommends that the house be treated like a flea infestation. Contact a pest-control expert and have the entire inside of the house sprayed.

To protect residential lawns and gardens LeBuhn recommends going to Home Depot or a garden store and picking up pest control granules with triazicide. Spread the granules around the lawn and landscaping according to spread-rate directions.

The life stages of a tick are larva, nymph and adult. The nymph stage is the most dangerous because nymphs are about the size of a pinhead or sesame seed and easily escape detection.

A nymph usually crawls into shady, moist leaf litter or up onto tall grass or bushes and waits for a potential host to brush against it. When the nymph catches a ride it crawls up the host's leg to a protected area. On humans that is usually the back of the knee, groin, navel, armpit, ears, nape of neck or hairline. It then painlessly inserts its mouthparts into the skin of the host and begins to draw blood.

The CDC recommends that we create tick-free safe zones. Deer ticks need a moist environment. Laying down a several-foot-wide wood chip or gravel border between your yard and wooded areas creates a good barrier. Mowing grass and keeping brush and leaves picked up eliminates hiding places. Keep playground equipment away from shrubs, bushes and other vegetation. Use tick-control chemicals on the lawn and shrubbery when needed.

Short shorts may be fashionable but they are dangerous for anyone going into a tick-infested area -- and that could be any wooded, grassy or dune area. Wear light colored, long sleeved shirts and pants with pant legs tucked into socks, and sturdy shoes.

The U.S. military developed an almost 100-percent efficient technique for keeping safe from ticks and mosquitoes. They use a strong DEET insect repellent on exposed skin and wear clothing treated with a 0.5 percent Permethrin solution. If you are going into the woods or dune areas you should do the same.

The same 0.5 percent Permethrin solution used in the military system is available in liquid, spray and pump spray form. Two complete changes of clothing can be treated with six ounces of the solution.

Both Sawyer, (800) 356-7811, www.sawyerfamilyprotection.com, and SCS Limited, (800) 749-8425, www.scs-mall.com offer the original six-ounce liquid military formulation complete with a treatment bag and protective gloves.

I have more information on ticks, tick repellents and how to remove the little creatures. Look for it along with a hot link to the "Tick Borne Illnesses in Michigan" brochure posted on my help site, www.masterhandyman.com, throughout 2005.

Now, go take a walk in the woods. I dare you.

The Handyman If you have a question, call the Handyman Show with Glenn Haege at (866) ASK GLENN. The show runs 8 a.m.- noon Saturday and Sunday on WDFN-AM (1130) and over 150 other stations nationwide. To suggest a question for Haege's Thursday "Ask Glenn" column, write: Ask Glenn, Master Handyman Press, P.O. Box 1498, Royal Oak, MI 48068-1498 or e-mail ask glenn@masterhandy man.com.