For Memorial Day weekend my family and I went camping at a New York state park. It was a great weekend and all of us, including our dogs, had a wonderful time tent camping and hiking.

However, shortly after returning home my camping memories turned sour.

It was exactly a week after the camping outing when I emerged from bed and felt a slight itch on my back.

As I itched my shoulder blade, I felt something unusual. I looked in the mirror and noticed a tick.

I have seen ticks before, but they were attached to my dog or cats, never to my body. I grabbed a pair of tweezers and had my husband use them to grasp the tick.

He got as close to my skin as possible, grabbed the tick, and gently pulled upward.

As soon as the tick was removed, I placed it in a small jar containing alcohol and called my physician.

The tick, along with some paperwork, was sent to the New York State Department of Health Tick Identification Service.

The identification service is free and is able to tell you the species of the tick, whether it is engorged with blood and, if so, how long it may have been feeding.

Ticks live in shady, moist areas and like to cling to tall grass, brush and shrubs. They are dormant in the cold winter months but are active when ground temperatures are above 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Their only mode of transportation is crawling; they cannot fly or jump. In fact, some species will crawl several feet toward a host.

There are two groups of ticks: “hard” and “soft” ticks. The common dog tick and deer tick are considered “hard” ticks.

They have a hard shield just behind the mouthparts, and if they are unfed, they are flat and shaped like a small raisin.

Soft ticks prefer to feed on birds or bats and are very rarely encountered.

The three most commonly encountered ticks in New York state include: the deer tick, American dog tick and the lone star tick.

The tick that was attached to my back was identified as a deer tick. Therefore I was treated for Lyme disease.

Once a tick gets on the skin it climbs upward until it reaches a protected area. From this point it will feed for five to seven days and then drop back to the ground.

To prevent a tick bite, wear light colored clothing, which can make spotting a tick much easier.

Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and long sleeved shirts. Tuck your pant legs into your socks and your shirt into your pants.

Hike along cleared trails and avoid contact with vegetation. Be sure to examine your clothing and body after your hike.

To further protect yourself or for more information on ticks, log onto the New York State Department of Health's Web site at www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/lyme/

Renee Jensen is the community educator of Environmental Issues at Cornell Cooperative Extension Cayuga County.