Most of us who spend our professional and leisure time wandering the hills and woods of Britain have had the experience of finding ticks on our skin after a day's outing. Until recently they were accepted, like midges, as little more than a nuisance and few people gave them a second thought after they had been removed. However, increasing concern about ticks and their role in transmitting Lyme disease has led to articles in various newspapers and magazines, some of which have been well researched while others have been, at best, misleading.