Five questions for Meghan Lybecker

Ticks aren’t just pesky, they often carry disease. State and local health departments reported a record number of cases of illnesses spread by ticks in 2017, according to a recent report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There  were 59,349 confirmed cases of tickborne diseases in 2017, up from 48,610 in 2016, according to the CDC; the true number of cases is likely higher because of underreporting.