"We found all of these ticks in my backyard in a few hours," she said, holding up a vial filled with 61 Lone Star ticks, many with a white star on their back.

The second vial has 20 nymphs; the size of a tiny seed, these adolescent ticks still pack a punch if infected. The third contains a black-legged deer tick, the species she is currently gathering data on.

Herman-Giddens moved from Chapel Hill to Pittsboro 14 years ago and has seen a rise in the tick population. Her role in helping form the Tick-Borne Infections Council of North Carolina in 2003 arose out of her studies on infectious diseases in the '80s.

"I can remember thinking back then that I wanted to do something about this," she said. "It became obvious the public was not receiving the proper education or awareness on the dangers of tick born illnesses, and that the state was not then taking the issue seriously."

Three or four people die annually in North Carolina from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Carried by the American dog tick, RSMF is the most severe tick-borne rickettsial illness in the United States. Left untreated, the mortality rate is 20 to 30 percent.

In the '80s new ticks were discovered in the Piedmont. The black-legged deer tick can transmit Lyme disease. The most common, the Lone Star tick, can carry a Lyme-like disease called Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness.

Herman-Giddens, now an adjunct professor at UNC's School of Public Health, serves on the state's Vector-borne Disease Task Force. She frequently gets phone calls from individuals who became seriously ill following a tick bite. Often, the methods of treatments confuse patients and medical professionals.

Lyme disease can either be hardly noticeable or leave someone bed-ridden if not caught early. The bacteria that causes syphilis is a first cousin to the Lyme disease bacteria, said Herman-Giddens. "It can neurologically affect an individual and left untreated may bring about mental health issues," she said. Of course, it may cause many other physical problems, as well.

Environmental changes have increased the tick populations. "Effects of climate change, the rise of suburbia, a rise in deer populations, the lack of predators, these are just a few of the reasons we're experiencing an tick epidemic," Herman-Giddens said. Deer are the largest carrier of ticks, which need a mammal to winter-over on.

Herman-Giddens has put out a call for help in gathering research information on the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), a lesser known species that is often confused with the tiny nymph stage of the Lone Star tick.

"The black-legged tick has very black legs as the name implies," she said. Adult males and females are smaller and more tear-drop shaped than Lone Star or dog ticks. Males are very black. Females are rust colored and black. Nymphs are poppy seed size and are more likely to bite in the spring.

"It is very important that we get reports of any black-legged tick bites," Herman-Giddens said. "if someone has had one or gets one the future, they can let us know at info@tic-nc.org."

You can also send your dead specimen to the research team. The easiest way to keep the tick is to tape the live tick on an index card, noting the date and place it was found on the body.

Herman-Giddens advises families create index card tick records. "Each year I get a new card," she said, "and tape each tick I've removed on to the card with the date it was removed as well as the body part it came from." It is important for bitten individuals to keep a watch for up to 30 days on the affected area and for flu-like symptoms.

Herman-Giddens who is "semi-retired," hopes to one day step away from her role with Tick-Borne Infections Council. "I spent two years reading and researching medical articles in preparation as we began the council," she said, "I can't just step away."

In her spare time, Herman-Giddens likes to garden, write, bead earrings, spend time with her children and grandchildren, and practice her newest passion, the cello. An active woman, she says she does not camp or hike locally. "The mountains are fairly tick-free," she said. "I go there for a reprieve."

AVOID TICK BITES

•Stay out of woods and grassy areas.

•Use a repellent with DEET and wear long sleeves, long pants and socks., Wear light-colored clo 2thing so you can visibly see a tick crawling on your clothes and Tuck your pant legs into your socks so that a tick can not crawl up your pant legs.

•To remove a tick use tweezers with a sharp point and pull slowly, from as close to the skin as possible. If you squeeze the tick's body, it can release infected materials into the wound.

•Never, use matches, lighters or nail polish.