Don't Let Your Summer `Bite' - Tips From Experts on Reducing Your Exposure to Ticks That Carry Lyme Disease -.

Feature Editors & Lifestyle Writers

FEATURE...

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--May 23, 2002

As summer approaches, a hike in the woods, a day in the garden or a visit to a nearby beach sounds like paradise. Of course, the great outdoors is a delight for other living creatures as well, including eight-legged pests.

Ticks are among the most feared arachnids (a class of arthropods including spiders, scorpions and mites) because they carry numerous diseases, including Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is a potentially serious, bacterial infection transmitted through the bite of certain tick species. Lyme disease accounts for more than 95 percent of all reported insect or tick transmitted diseases. The Centers for Disease Control says Lyme Disease now affects about 15,000 people each year.

Ralph Bram, Ph.D., formerly the national program leader of entomology at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, offers the following tips on reducing the risk of contracting Lyme disease:

-- Take appropriate precautions or avoid walking through uncut fields, brush
and other areas likely to harbor ticks, especially from May through July.

-- Whenever hiking or picnicking in wooded areas, wear long pants that are
tight at the ankles and tucked into socks, and wear shoes that cover the entire
foot.

-- Walk in the center of trails to avoid overhanging grass and brush. Lyme
disease-carrying ticks are most often found in heavy brush within woods and
forests.

-- Wear light-colored clothes so ticks can be spotted more easily.

-- Use an insect repellent containing deet, such as 3M Ultrathon Insect
Repellent. Ultrathon insect repellent lotion was rated the number-one insect
repellent by a leading consumer magazine, because its patented, time-release
formula provides up to 12 hours of protection. (Ultrathon insect repellant is
also available in a spray, which provides up to eight hours of protection.)

-- To keep your yard safe, mow grass regularly and trim shrubs. Even manicured
lawns can harbor ticks for short periods of time. Do not walk outside barefoot.


-- Check yourself for ticks while outside, and brush off any you find on
clothing. Inspect family members and pets after they have been in potential
tick-infested areas. Promptly and carefully remove any ticks that are found
(common areas include neck and scalp).

-- Remove ticks immediately, but NEVER use your fingers since squeezing a tick
can inject infectious fluid from the tick into your system. Wear latex gloves,
use fine-point tweezers to grasp the head of the tick and slowly pull it out.

-- Put tick collars on pets and check them for ticks regularly if they go
outside.

-- Recognize the symptoms of Lyme disease and seek medical help immediately if
they appear.

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3M is a $16 billion diversified technology company with leading positions in health care, safety, electronics, telecommunications, industrial, consumer and office, and other markets. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., the company has operations in more than 60 countries and serves customers in nearly 200 countries. 3M businesses share technologies, manufacturing operations, brands, marketing channels and other important resources. 3M, which marks its 100th anniversary this year, is one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average and also is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. For more information about 3M go to www.3M.com or www.3M.com/profile/pressbox/index.jhtml.

3M and Ultrathon are trademarks of 3M.