Gold, Dirt, and Ticks: Is Lyme Disease Really a Threat to Arizona Prospectors?

If you’ve been scrolling through social media lately, you’ve probably seen the headlines: “Tick season is the worst in decades,” with some areas reporting that 50% of ticks are now carrying Lyme disease. For those of us out in the Prescott National Forest or swinging a detector in the San Domingo Wash, that sounds like a reason to hang up the pickaxe.

But before you coat yourself in DEET from head to toe, let’s clear the air. When it comes to Arizona prospecting, the “Rude Awakening” isn’t Lyme disease—it’s something else entirely. (more…)