The latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Heartland

KIRKSVILLE, MO -- Tick season is here in the Heartland, and it's the topic for your Facebook Story of The Day.

In both Missouri and Iowa, the most common ticks found here are called the brown dog tick, the wood tick, and the lone star tick.

The most common diseases they carry are the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) and the Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI).

There are ways you can protect yourself from being bitten by a tick.

"There are treatments you can apply that is a repellent or an insecticide. You can also wear long pants that are tucked into boots when going into an area with lots of ticks and wearing light colored clothing can protect you and help you see any ticks," said Dr. Wesley Ryle M.D. of the A.T. Still University Gutensohn Clinic.

If a tick gets in contact with your skin, the correct way to get them off is to gently grab them and slowly take the tick off.

"Grasp them with a pair of tweezers or covered fingers right behind their head and close to the skin as you can get. Gently and slowly pull them off. What you don't want to do is get them off quickly or squeeze hard on the body," Dr. Ryle said.

There's a window of about 24 hours to get the tick off before a disease will spread into the human body.

If you do get bitten and experience a deep red rash or flu like symptoms, contact your doctor immediately for antibiotic treatment.

For more information on ticks and what you can do to prevent them click here.