![Life stages of the western blacklegged tick. [CA Dept Public Health]](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests//blogfiles/36433_original.jpg "Life stages of the western blacklegged tick. [CA Dept Public Health]")
This updated publication, by authors Robert S. Lane and Anne Kjemtrup, contains new information on incidents of Lyme disease in California.
You can read about the main carrier of Lyme disease, the western blacklegged tick, including the biology of the tick, specific habitats (dense woods and trails with leaf litter), places and times of the year where bites from disease-carrying ticks are more likely to occur, and how to reduce the presence of ticks around homes.
![Early localized Lyme disease rash [G.M. Green]](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests//blogfiles/36434_original.jpg "Early localized Lyme disease rash [G.M. Green]")
If you discover you've been bitten by a tick, save it for identification. You may have been exposed to Lyme disease if you develop flu-like symptoms or a rash within a week or two of being bitten. If this happens, see your doctor immediately.