I've found that the California coastal regions and the US 101 corridor are crawling with ticks in spring. I discovered that it's really important to comb the dog before putting him in the car; he invariably has lots of hitchhikers looking for a home.

Up here in Oregon, it's the eastern half of the Columbia Gorge and the foothills east of the Cascades that are crawling in spring. For some reason I haven't run into any in the Willamette Valley, Coast Range or the coast.

My defense against ticks: For me, spray shirt, pants, shoes, gaiters with Permethrin. (Don't get it on your skin, and do your spraying outdoors and upwind of what you're spraying. Carefully read and heed label precautions.) Shortie gaiters are useful to keep the critters from crawling up your pants legs. Then a line of DEET repellent around your cuffs and collar. With this stuff you probably won't have any ticks on your clothing, but brushing off before getting into the car and removing your clothes in the bathtub when you get home (easy to see them crawling on the white porcelain) and checking your body is a really good idea.

For the dog, regularly monthly treatment with K9 Advantix or Frontline. It has recently been reported that Frontline isn't working on ticks as well as it used to. Check with your veterinarian. Many of the cheaper over-the-counter treatments don't work. Talk to your veterinarian! Again, check the dog and comb him out both before putting him in the car and again before bringing him into the house. If your dog has a thick coat, the ticks will probably still be crawling around looking for a home. If you have a short-haired dog, the ticks may have latched on. The topical treatments take an hour or two to kill the ticks after they bite; however, they generally zap the ticks before the nasty little arachnids can release their stomach contents (with attendant disease organisms) into the dog's bloodstream.

Oh, and if you itch, always look first before scratching! Yes, I'm itching right now as a result of this discussion, and I bet you are, too!