The article focuses on the deer tick (Ixodes scapularis), as host to potentially dangerous pathogens including Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia miyamotoi and Deer Tick Virus in the U.S. Mid Atlantic to the Northeast and upper Midwest. It describes the deer tick's life cycle and how tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease, hemolysis and anaplasmosis are transmitted to humans. Topics include the surge in tick-borne diseases, the pathogens that cause tick-borne diseases, as well as disease prevention.