The expanding tick population poses a significant health risk to residents of Lake County and surrounding areas. Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness, can cause symptoms ranging from fever and lethargy to severe complications affecting the nervous system, joints, and heart if left untreated. Anaplasmosis, another tick-borne disease, is also on the rise, appearing in about 6% of tested ticks. The risk is not limited to rural or forested areas; ticks are increasingly found in urban parks and suburban yards. The changing climate, with shorter winters and earlier springs, is contributing to the spread of ticks into new regions, increasing the potential for human and pet exposure.