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Officials remind residents tick and mosquito season is back

In this May 24, 2012 photo, doctoral student Connie Johnson shows a vial of Gulf Coast ticks she picked up around North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Allen Breed)

With warm temperatures returning to North Carolina, state officials are reminding residents to watch out for ticks and mosquitos. 

Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed April as Tick and Mosquito Awareness Month. Preliminary data shows that in 2021 there were more than 1,000 cases of tick and mosquito-borne diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, and West Nile virus.

Officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services say that these diseases are preventable by taking protective measures.

According to a news release, residents can reduce exposure to ticks by avoiding habitats such as wooded, grassy, or brushy areas, and using tick repellant that contains DEET or an equivalent on exposed skin. 

Mosquito repellant containing DEET is also recommended, along with clothing that has been treated with permethrin.

You can also reduce mosquito breeding by emptying standing water from flowerpots, gutters, birdbaths, and related items at least once a week.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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