MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin's warm winter, coupled with warmer-than-average temperatures to start off the month of March, have led to an earlier than normal start to tick season statewide.

"Most people might think of ticks coming out more in late-March, maybe April when the weather really start to turn to Spring," said Rebecca Osborn, a vector-borne disease epidemiologist with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. "We've had such warm weather in February and March that we're already starting to see the ticks become active."

Osborn added that if someone were to have a run-in with a tick at any point, don't panic.

"Remove the tick with a fine-toothed tweezer if you have them or even your fingers as close to the skin as possible, just pull it out, gently but firmly," Osborn said. "We also recommend that anyone who comes into contact with a tick, whether it's a tick bite or you find one crawling around your home or a family member or a pet, monitor yourself for symptoms of tick-borne disease for the next 30 days. And that could mean anything from a fever, rash, new joint pain or fatigue."

Watch the full interview above.