With summer approaching and more people hiking or simply enjoying the Southern California sunshine, concerns about blood-sucking ticks spreading Lyme disease are real.

However, while the disease infiltrated California nearly 30 years ago, the number of cases are way below those reported in the Northeast and Midwest. Vector-borne disease experts say Lyme disease is simply not a serious problem in Southern California. The more prevalent problems come from mosquitoes carrying Zika, West Nile, dengue fever and chikungunya which afflict hundreds of people every year, experts say.

Still, that doesn’t mean Lyme disease never will be a problem.

Prevention and early detection are part of the safety protocol extended by the California Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as vector control and county health departments. Experts recommend wearing bug repellent before going outside, and performing a post-hike body check for the black, spider-like creatures that can burrow deep in the skin.

Why look for ticks if they are not a big threat in Southern California? There are several reasons to keep an eye out:

1. They’re here

First, the western blacklegged tick has been found in dozens of places in Southern California, albeit not in great numbers and usually not carrying the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi.

For example, from 1985 to 2013, the CDH collected 15,236 ticks in Los Angeles County, 5,973 in Riverside County, 917 in San Bernardino County and 866 in Orange County.

They were found in:

Los Angeles County: Monrovia Wilderness Park, Angeles National Forest at Chantry Flat and north of San Dimas, Puente-Chino Hills, Lynwood, Griffith Park, Encino Reservoir, Pacific Palisades, Las Virgines Creek in Santa Monica Mountains, Charmlee County Park.

Monrovia Wilderness Park, Angeles National Forest at Chantry Flat and north of San Dimas, Puente-Chino Hills, Lynwood, Griffith Park, Encino Reservoir, Pacific Palisades, Las Virgines Creek in Santa Monica Mountains, Charmlee County Park. San Bernardino County: Lytle Creek; Victorville, Redlands, Big Bear Lake, Chino Hills State Park

Lytle Creek; Victorville, Redlands, Big Bear Lake, Chino Hills State Park Riverside County: Beaumont, Banning near the 10 Freeway; Idyllwild; San Jacinto Mountains; Corona; Lake Elsinore

Beaumont, Banning near the 10 Freeway; Idyllwild; San Jacinto Mountains; Corona; Lake Elsinore Orange County: Crystal Cove State Park (Laguna Beach); Laguna Hills; Caspers Wilderness Park, and off Ortega Highway near Bear Canyon.

The number of reported cases of Lyme disease are low. In 2016, a total of 95 confirmed cases were reported by the CDPH. In 2017, the CDPH confirmed 86 cases. So far in 2018, 23 confirmed cases have been reported in California.

On average, 20-30 cases are reported to L.A. County health every year but only a handful are confirmed as Lyme disease.

Confirmed cases vary from 0 to 8 per year and many of those are from people who visited places outside of Southern California. Only about 1 percent of the ticks are infected with B. burgdorferi.

No cases have been reported in L.A. County in 2017 nor 2018 so far, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health. The rates of infection are 1 in 100,000, much lower than the national rate.

Riverside County reported three cases in 2016, one in 2017 and so far zero in 2018, according to Jose Arballo Jr., spokesperson for the Riverside University Health System-Public Health Department.

The CDC recently reported the number of cases nationwide of illnesses from tick, mosquito and flea bites has tripled from 2004 to 2016. And new studies say global climate change may be increasing the range of disease-carrying ticks and the amount of time they are active.

2. Lyme disease is hard to recognize

Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. It is spread when the tick attaches itself and feeds off human blood, transmitting the bacterium to the host. It usually takes 24 hours for the tick to transmit the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.

Lyme disease can be underreported for several reasons. Symptoms can take up to 30 days to appear, and in the beginning resemble the flu, so the disease is missed by physicians. By the time the disease progresses, it’s hard to detect the bacteria, the positive marker for Lyme disease.

While the symptoms start as a mild flu-like illness, they can progress into serious chronic health problems. Early stages include a red, expansive rash, followed by chills, fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, muscle and joint pain, weakness in some facial muscles and heart irregularities.

The disease can cause arthritis in the joints. If left untreated, it can affect the nervous system, bringing about tingling, numbness in the arms or legs and sometimes impair one’s ability to concentrate or remember things.

Lyme disease can be treated successfully with antibiotics, especially in early stages.

3. Resources are focused elsewhere

Many vector control districts are underfunded. Both Riverside County and the Greater Los Angeles Vector Control District do not look for ticks.

“We actually discontinued routine tick collections/testing a few years ago to focus our resources on mosquito control and West Nile virus surveillance which is a much higher priority here in Southern California,” wrote Keith Jones, deputy director of the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health in an emailed response.

“We always wrestle with that question: What risk do we have for Lyme disease for people who go hiking,” said Kelly Middleton, spokesperson for the Greater LA district.

“Overall the risk is not huge, but it is not zero either.”

Orange County has a very low prevalence for Lyme disease. In the last 10 years, 5,000 ticks were tested for B. burgdorferi and only one sample was positive, said Lora Young, spokesperson for the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District.

“Overall the risk is not huge, but it is not zero either.”

Some of the credit goes to the blue belly lizard species, which contains a blood protein that kills the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, she said.

“When the tick feeds on the lizard, they have a chemical in their blood which makes the bacteria no longer viable,” Young said. So the tick no longer has the ability to spread the disease, she said.

Where to keep an eye out for ticks

Ixodes pacificus, or the western blacklegged tick, has been found in 56 of 58 California counties. While more common in the California North Coast and on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, they are also found in Southern California mountains, foothills and near wetlands and bodies of water.

A person can contract Lyme disease when western blacklegged ticks acquire the bacterium by feeding on the blood of infected birds and small mammals such as mice, chipmunks or deer, and then attach themselves to humans.

Ticks prefer cool, moist areas and cling to wild grasses and low vegetation in rural and urban areas. The adult ticks climb to the tip of vegetation located along trails, waiting for a host to bush up against them, called questing. Nymphs stay low, hiding in leaves and low vegetation and on logs.

Adults are active from October to June. Nymphs are active primarily from March through August.

Nymphs are of particular concern. They are very small, less than 1 milimeter or about the size of a poppy seed and this makes them difficult to see. In some parts of the state, more people are infected by nymphs than adult ticks.

How to prevent infection

Use EPA-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucallyptus, para-menthane-diol or 2-undecanone.

Wear clothing treated with permethrin

Shower as soon as you can after your time outdoors

Check for ticks using a mirror. They can hide in belly buttons, under armpits, behind the knees, in the groin and in the hair

Put clothes in the dryer on high heat and tumble for 10 minutes to kill the ticks on dry clothes. Then wash in hot water.

If you find a tick, remove it using a tweezer.