Constable: Lone Star tick is headed here and could kill you. But don't panic.

#8220;It's a sweltering summer afternoon. I'm pushing aside tree limbs and crunching leaves to get back to the trap that I baited two hours ago,#8221; writes Holly Tuten, a vector ecologist for the Illinois Natural History Survey Medical Entomology Lab at the University of Illinois. #8220;When I get closer, I can see a gossamer mist hovering over a bright white cloth in the dark underbrush. ... When I reach the trap #8212; a square of white cloth on the ground #8212; I see that it's covered in ticks. Hooray!#8221;

Not so fast.

#8220;Quickly, though, I realize that I've introduced my own CO2 to the scene, along with the added attractant of my body heat,#8221; Tuten writes of her adventure in Kankakee County. #8220;Suddenly, I become the local target of choice for the ticks.#8221;

It's not as dangerous as hunting lions, but Tuten, working with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is putting herself in harm's way for health research, not trophies. The Lone Star tick, once confined to the Eastern, Southeastern and South Central states, has been moving through Illinois.

#8220;We have known of Lone Star ticks in DuPage County,#8221; says Andres Ortega, ecologist for the DuPage County Forest Preserve District. In July, he discovered another Southern species, the Gulf Coast tick, in the county.

#8220;The range of many of these species is moving northward,#8221; Ortega says, noting higher temperatures throughout the year make the suburbs hospitable.

We already know about the Lyme disease carried by blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks. We've worried about the Rocky Mountain spotted fever that can be transmitted by the American dog tick, or wood tick. A similar ailment can be caused by Rickettsia parkers, a bacterium found in the Gulf Coast tick.

And the Lone Star tick, an eight-legged arthropod with a whitish spot on its back, ups the ante by carrying the Heartland virus, which can cause fever, fatigue, decreased appetite, headaches, nausea, diarrhea, muscle and joint pain, and the need to be hospitalized.

#8220;There have been people who have died of Heartland virus,#8221; says Tuten. The first two cases of the virus in Illinois were diagnosed in 2018 in Kankakee County and far-south Williamson County. #8220;Eventually the Lone Star tick will be abundant across the state.#8221;

The Lone Star tick also carries a sugar molecule called alpha-gal, which can be transmitted to a human through a bite and result in that person developing a food allergy a few hours later to meat and byproducts of mammals, such as hamburgers and steaks, but also to gelatin-coated medications or wearing leather. That can cause serious and life-threatening anaphylactic reactions similar to those felt by people with allergies to peanuts or shellfish.

#8220;Don't be scared, be prepared,#8221; says Tuten, who is all about protection and prevention of tick bites. #8220;Our job is to go into the tickiest places we know, but we manage to avoid tick bites. Last year we collected more than 5,000 ticks and no bites.#8221;

The dry ice used to bait tick traps releases carbon dioxide that mimics the breath of humans and other mammals. But setting dry ice near your picnic area would simply attract ticks, which then might be lured by your own breath and body heat.

#8220;There are very clear and concrete prevention steps,#8221; Tuten says. Always tuck your shirt into your pants, and tuck your pant legs into your socks.

Wearing light-colored clothing makes it easier to spot ticks, Ortega adds.

Tuten takes the extra step of applying double-sided tape to the top of her boots.

#8220;I think of that sticky tape as another layer of protection from ticks that crawl up from the ground,#8221; she says.

People sometimes think of ticks as sluggish.

#8220;They're not. They live very active lives,#8221; Tuten says. One of her YouTube videos shows a Lone Star tick #8220;hotfooting#8221; across her pesticide-treated boot, and another shows a scampering Gulf Coast tick, which can cover 12 feet of an open field in one minute.

Don't let that stop you from enjoying the outdoors, Ortega says.

Spraying your clothes with permethrin, an Environmental Protection Agency-approved pesticide that's chemically similar to extracts from a flowering chrysanthemum plant, can reduce your risk of getting a tick bite, but you shouldn't spray it on your skin or pets, say Ortega and Tuten, who advise people to visit epa.gov/insect-repellents to find the best products for their situations.

Check your entire body for ticks after spending time in nature, and if you find a tick, don't use fire, chemicals, petroleum jelly or salt in an attempt to make it leave, Ortega says. Tick mouth parts are similar to fishing hooks, making it difficult for them to release if you make them uncomfortable. #8220;The only escape they have is to burrow farther into you,#8221; he says.

Instead, take tweezers and gently grab the tick as close as you can to your skin and pull straight out, never twisting, he says.

We can protect ourselves against ticks, even the new ones heading north.

#8220;There's a certain feeling of empowerment,#8221; Tuten says. #8220;I've taken the steps I need to take. We don't have to feel powerless.#8221;

But it is OK to feel a little queasy.

#8220;I work with them for a living,#8221; Ortega says. #8220;And even I get the heebie-jeebies when I get a tick bite or feel something crawling over me.#8221;