When I was a child, growing up in northern Westchester County, we would romp through the woods, lay in the high grasses, roll down the hills, and wander through the brush all day long, and never see a single tick. Today, you can barely walk from the house to the mailbox without finding one or two clinging to your clothing. Searching the dogs after every walk has become a routine that everyone performs by habit now. It’s a routine, of course, which is pretty much fruitless, as a Black-legged Tick nymph is so small it’s almost impossible to spot on a dog … or a human.