Protecting your skin from pests

Spring is finally here in the Northern Plains and summer feels just around the corner. As all we Northerners know, as soon as the temperatures hit even a mild degree on the thermometer, most of us shed the jackets and long pants and our skin is front-and-center.

The sunny season is prime season for mosquitoes and ticks, along with the itchy bites and all the unpleasant infections they can carry. Different species of mosquitoes and ticks can transmit different bacteria and viruses and, around the U.S., we have some specific diseases to be concerned about.

West Nile Virus is an endemic seasonal...