Living in Connecticut we have just entered tick season, and the disease we get is lymes disease discovered in Lyme Connecticut. I happen to live in Lyme, it can be very nasty if not detected,and know peaple who have had this disorder. Not all ticks carry the virus which infects you, and all you need to do is stay away from long grass wear boots and long trousers. We have a regime where you check all the crevasis of the body where they tend to head to before they drink you dry. You do the routine while showering and is usually good enough to stop the disease. the ticks normally have to hang onto you for quite a while before you get infected. You can purchase proper tick removal tools and bags to put them in, so if you become ill you can take it to the hospital with you. This is because the symptoms are a cold like fever which can come and go.
Foot note to this: the worst case i have heard of was a boy of 14 who had a stroke as it went undetected by doctors. this case happened at Canterbury Golf course Kent England where i am a member when in England. you can search lymes disease on the web to see if you already live in an infected area, and if you have squirels you probably do.