It’s only been a week, but it’s finally starting to feel like spring is here to stay in Minnesota. It’s been awesome to drive around town with my windows down and get outside. But because we can never completely enjoy anything, here’s an important warning about being outside this summer.

The Center For Disease Control just came out with a new report stating that diseases spread by insects have tripled nationwide from 2004 to 2016. That means diseases like Zika, Lyme disease, and West Nile Virus have rapidly been on the rise.

Ticks are the main insects to avoid, being the main culprit for Lyme disease. But this report makes our state bird even more annoying.

So why have they been spreading? Researchers think it has to do with the fact that people are traveling across the world more than ever before; all it takes is one infected person to travel back to the United States to cause an outbreak. But there's also the case of ticks being found everywhere - including residential areas.

As far as the best way to prevent these diseases, the CDC recommends taking precautions like using repellent, wearing covered clothing, and doing full-body inspections for ticks after being outside. Consider this an important reminder to prepare yourself whenever you're out in nature this summer.

Hey, it could be worse! At least it's not it snowing in May. Just sayin’.

Source: TIME

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