Nearly 60,000 tick-borne illnesses were reported in 2017 in the United States, following a trend of steadily increasing cases each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And a rise in tick-borne illnesses-two of the best-known in humans are Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever -isn't something to take lightly, as these conditions can make you feel pretty sick. If left untreated, they can cause a host of serious, long-term symptoms , ranging from arthritis to cardiovascular and neurological problems.

Don't worry: Finding a tick on your body after a weekend camping trip is not a guarantee that youll be plagued with illness, according to Walter Schrading , MD, director of the Office of Wilderness Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The tick bite itself is not dangerous and doesnt cause any symptoms or rash unless its carrying one of the major diseases we worry about, Dr. Schrading explains. Otherwise, the tick can just be removed with tweezers , [with nothing but] local irritation around the bite.

Hopefully you already know that prevention (i.e. wearing long sleeves and pants outside and loading up on insect repellents that contain DEET or permethrin ) is the best way to avoid contracting a tick-borne illness this summer. But if its too late for prevention, here are six photos to help you figure out whether that bite could be from a tick, plus what to expect next if it is.

The tick bite itself will likely be so small and painless (just a little red dot, if anything) that you wont actually notice it, says Qurat Mudassar , MD, an infectious disease specialist and primary care physician at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut. Youll likely only become aware that one of those little buggers has latched onto you if you actually find the tick attached to your skin, or if you develop one of the tell-tale rashes (or other symptoms) that signals youve been infected with a tick-borne illness.

The hallmark sign of Lyme infection is a rash that resembles a bullseye. [With Lyme disease], the rash is a localized infection, Dr. Mudassar says. The center may be clear with a red, circular margin outside. This rash may also become itchy or swollen for some people.

View this post on Instagram Do you know the symptoms of Lyme Disease? They may include a circular, red "bull's eye" rash, fatigue, fever or chills, headache, joint pain, muscle aches and more. Visit durham.ca/lyme #targetlyme #lymedisease #bullseyerash #ticks #hiking #trails #DurhamRegion #biking A post shared by Durham Region Health (@durhamregionhealth) on Aug 23, 2018 at 1:23pm PDT

Here's where it gets a little more complicated: Not everyone who develops Lyme disease gets a rash, and even the people that do often dont notice it, Dr. Mudassar says. Plus, the rash can show up on other areas of the body away from the bite site, so it might not raise any red flags.

A Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever rash, on the other hand, is more obvious. This bacterial infection causes a rash on the extremities of the body (think: your palms, ankles, and soles of your feet), which migrates toward the center of your body, per Dr. Schrading.

View this post on Instagram Yall, CHECK YOUR BABIES AND YOURSELVES FOR TICKS! This is #Rockymountainspottedfever from a tick Lou Ann spent 3 hours in urgent care, 5 hours in Winchester ER, and she is now is St. Thomas Hospital in Murfreesboro! This is a woman who doesnt spend a whole lot of time outdoors, in high grass, or in the woods. Without treatment it can be fatal! Thankfully My mom has a few daughters who wouldnt rest til she got help! She should get to come home tomorrow A post shared by Alanna Taylor (@alannnaaataylor) on May 30, 2018 at 5:10pm PDT

Since you cant always rely on a rash to clue you in, pay attention to other signs of illness you experience after possible exposure.

Dr. Mudassar says that tick-borne illnesses can cause fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, headache, muscle pain, and regional lymph node swelling in the early stages of the disease.

Dr. Schrading adds that you might simply have nonspecific viral illness symptoms, like malaise and myalgia -so it helps to consider the time of year youre feeling sick. More people are outside and around ticks in the summer, which isnt flu season, he says. So if youre feeling like you have the flu in the middle of summer, think about whether you could have been exposed to a tick.

Does it matter what kind of tick bit me?

View this post on Instagram Brought back a friend from #rockygapstatepark this weekend. @joyceannsun found it on me this morning. Sure glad she did. Tried tweezers but we think the head is still on, so between that and the redness, its of to the #dermatologist this afternoon. Just want to make sure things are ok. Sorry for the gross picture, but I just wanted to remind everyone to watch out for #ticks, yes they are out and about this early here in #Maryland. I think its a larger #tick and not a smaller deer tick, which carry #lymedisease. The larger one around here can carry #rockymountainspottedfever though, plus Im certainly not an expert do I want to get it checked out. A post shared by Denman (@lefauxpas) on Apr 1, 2019 at 9:03am PDT

There are many different species of ticks , but the detail that matters is whether you were bitten by a deer tick (a.k.a. a blacklegged tick) or dog tick, which are known to transmit these two major diseases to humans.

The only two major diseases we see reside in deer and dog ticks-if youre bitten by a random tick that doesnt transmit disease, youll be fine, says Dr. Schrading, who clarifies that deer ticks transmit Lyme disease and dog ticks transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Other ticks, like the Lone Star tick , for example, also transmit diseases. But infections from Lone Star ticks make up a small percentage of all tick-borne illnesses, per the CDC.

View this post on Instagram Just pulled this little critter off of me last night. This is an adult female Amblyomma americanum, also known as the Lonestar tick. Ironically, I never saw these when I lived in the Lonestar state These ticks can easily be identified by the white star on the back of the tick and are usually much larger than the traditional deer tick. They are usually found in wooded areas (my wooded backyard explains it all!). This tick does not transmit Lyme, but is involved in the Alpha-gal allergy phenomenon (meat allergy). This is a very unlikely, but is thought to occur from the tick bite triggering an immune response to a carbohydrate found in mammalian meat (red meat). Tick season is upon us! Make sure to check your skin after any time spent outside #ticks #tickseason #lonestar #lonestartick #insect #outdoors #dermatology #boardcertifieddermatologist #skincare #easternshore #easternshoremd #oceancitymaryland #berlinmd #selbyville #fenwickisland A post shared by Sara Moghaddam, MD, FAAD (@drsaramd) on May 22, 2018 at 2:21pm PDT

The tricky thing is that theres no way to tell from the actual bite itself which tick nabbed you. That said, if you develop the classic bullseye rash or a spotted rash spreading across your body, it's pretty clear which tick was the culprit. At that point, you should definitely hightail it to your doctors office for evaluation, which Dr. Mudassar says is worth doing for *any* tick bite, even one that isnt causing symptoms yet.

Its better if you go to the doctor right away when you know youve had a tick bite, says Dr. Mudassar. If you go within 36 hours of the bite, you can be treated with a lesser dose of antibiotics [if your doctor determines thats necessary].

Your doctor may be able to test you for illness with blood work to identify the pathogen. But Dr. Schrading warns it can take a while for results to come back, and false negatives can occur.

A tick will spend the first 12 to 24 hours on your body looking for a place to settle in, Dr. Mudassar says. Once it finds a desirable spot-like your armpit, groin, or the back of your neck-it will latch on.

From there, it takes a few days for the tick to actually transmit any illness it might be carrying; Dr. Schrading notes that it could be about four to seven days before a rash or symptoms appear.

View this post on Instagram Tick bite Ive had a terrible week to say the least. I went from to zero within a day. Not only did a nasty little bug get me sick but so did the medicine to cure it. Just to create some awareness #lymedisease is real and can happen to anyone. Take precautions and learn about how to respond to a #tickbite. This was my arm over a three day period. #lymediseaseawareness #lymerash #bullseyerash #deertick #braxtoncounty #tickssuck #fitnessproblems A post shared by Wheres Your Will To Be Weird? (@krileyzin) on Jun 10, 2018 at 12:20pm PDT

If you know for sure a tick bit you because you found it attached to your skin, its still totally possible you wont contract an illness. Why? Well, not all ticks carry diseases, for starters. But theres also a correlation between the length of time the tick was attached to you and how likely you are to get sick.

Removing the tick as soon as possible reduces risk of infection if its carrying a disease, says Dr. Schrading. The less time its attached to you, the less likely it is to infect you, especially if its been less than 12 hours.

Remember: Your best bet for avoiding tick-borne illnesses is prevention, and then early detection. Do careful tick checks after youve spent time outside and dont wait around for symptoms to start if you think a tick bit you. You can also keep tabs on local tick activity in your area by contacting your states health department (or visiting their web site).