Tick encounters are expected to be frequent this year. Here’s what you need to know.

A few weeks ago, Goudarz Molaei went on a research expedition to a wooded coastal area in southwestern Connecticut. Within minutes, droves of troublesome residents of the area were crawling across his coveralls. He was covered in ticks.

Molaei, who directs the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s tick surveillance and testing program, collected as many as he could and took them back to his lab. The final tally: more than 200 of the tiny, parasitic arachnids.