WORCESTER, Mass. - Local doctors warn that tick bites are causing more people to show up in emergency rooms this year throughout Massachusetts.

“We are seeing more tick bites, and earlier in the season this year compared to the last few years,” said Dr. Hillary Irons, an emergency physician at UMass Memorial Medical Center.

According to data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, there have been 726 E.R. visits throughout the state this year alone for tick-borne diseases.

Peak tick activity occurs from April through August, with a more brief resurgence in October and November. The diseases they carry are most often diagnosed in children and older adults.

If you’re going on a hike, camping or taking part in other activities to enjoy the great outdoors this summer, Irons offered some simple steps you can take to try and keep tick-borne illness at bay.

“The best way to protect yourself from tick bites is to wear long pants and socks and cover yourself, especially below the knees, and avoid places that have higher grass and brush areas,” Irons said. “So, if you’re walking along a trail, walk in the center of the trail rather than going off the trail.”

Ticks are most likely found in shady, damp, brushy, wooded or grassy areas. If you are bit by one and develop a rash or you experience symptoms like fever, headache, fatigue or sore and aching muscles, you should talk to your doctor.

Dr. Eric Rosenthal, a primary care doctor for HealthAlliance Fitchburg Family Practice, said there are also other steps you can take to figure out if you’re at risk after a bite.

“If you’re able to pull the tick off and you’re really worried about it being a tick that could cause some type of illness, you could actually bring it in a jar or something like that, and then we could look at it and see if that would be one that could cause an illness,” Rosenthal said. “You could also have them be sent out to have them identified.”

And if you get home from a hike and find a tick stuck on you, remove it as quick as you can.

“Take a pair of tweezers, and if you can brush the tick off right away, that’s great, but if you can’t, you want to take a pair of tweezers and put them as close to the skin with a tick attached as possible, then pull with a steady effort to pull the tick off,” Irons said.