Well it's Nov 9, we've had over a 7 days of heavy frost/freezing plus 3 of snow and just now I pulled a deer tick off my neck that either the cats or Marley brought in. The deer tick is the carrier of Lyme and is 1/3 the size of a wood tick (the size of a pin head). It's never safe to go without Lyme protection in a black zone -- where I live if a deer tick bite is confirmed, prophylactic antibiotics are given immediately by our local vets and human docs. The tick I just took off hadn't bitten yet, so I'm safe this time. Marley's favorite prey, bunnies and groundhogs, are carriers of deer ticks. So are birds, skunks, mice, etc. We're even considering a move to Denver, CO just to get away from the Lyme/deer tick problem.