CAUTION: One of Minnesota’s Nastiest Animals Are On The Prowl

Two animals that I have complete disgust for - snakes and ticks.  I don't care if they are good for our world.  They make my skin crawl just thinking about them crawling around.  Unfortunately, I've found one of those critters already and it is one that can carry some nasty diseases to anyone that gets bit in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Ticks Have Already Been Spotted in Minnesota

I know that we haven't been spraying the bug spray or really paying attention to the bugs outside because, well, it still gets pretty cold.  Once the mosquitos start flying around we tend to get in the habit of protecting our bodies from their bites.  You may want to start pulling out those sprays now though because I just found a tick on my dog.

Sunday night, I was putting my Saint Bernard and noticed that he had a bump by his eye that wasn't there before.  He has a TON of hair so seeing an actual bump is not normal.  I looked a little bit closer and was shocked when I saw that it was a tick.

Getting a tick off of a Saint Bernard is as easy as it sounds.  Thankfully, he is doing ok and back to his 160-pound self and living his best life.

When are ticks active in Minnesota?

These nasty animals are in our state all year long but we typically see them more active in the months of March to October.

What ticks can we find in Minnesota?

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the three ticks that are the most common in our state are the following:

• Deer Tick, which is also called the Blacklegged tick - causes the most tickborne illnesses in Minnesota.
• Wood Tick, which is also called the American dog tick - People are bit by these ticks the most but they rarely spread diseases.  However, these could spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia.
• Lone star tick - these aren't found as often in Minnesota but could spread ehrlichiosis and tularemia.

READ MORE: Tick Found in Minnesota Causes Meat Allergy

You can learn more about these little creatures in our state and images of their lifecycle at the Minnesota Department of Health website. 

Spider Crickets are the grossest bugs to invade homes in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois

If you ever see a bug like this in your house, get ready to have an exterminator on speed dial.  Spider crickets are disgusting and unfortunately are hiding out in quite a few homes in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois.  And yes, they are currently in mine.   Don't worry though, I've got a few tips for you below to help you out during these unprecedented spider cricket times.

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