Mariel Segarra

The good news is, in the summer, you have the cornucopia in front of you.

Take your pick.

Plump blackberries, sweet ripe peaches, juicy heirloom tomatoes.

Find out what fruits and vegetables are in season during each part of the summer and celebrate them.

Another one of my favorite easily assembled summer lunches is sourdough bread toasted with butter on top, a chunky slice of in-season heirloom tomato, and sea salt and honey on top of that.

All right, we'll have more Life Kit summer health tips after the break.

Okay, it is time to talk about the things that creep and crawl.

I wanted to say bugs, but we have learned that ticks are not technically classified as bugs.

They're arachnids, along with their friends spiders and scorpions.

It's estimated that about 31 million people in the U.S.

get bitten by a tick every year.

Summer is peak season for this, and unfortunately ticks can spread diseases like Lyme.

Takeaway five, take tick bite prevention seriously.

If you're spending time outdoors in the summer, especially in an area where ticks are common like the Northeast, cover your skin as much as possible.

For instance, if you're going on a hike or working in the yard.

You could wear long sleeves and long pants and tuck your pants into your socks.

I know it's hard to do that when it's hot, which is one reason I don't hike in the summer, but you can choose fabrics that are more breathable.

And then spray your clothes and your skin with an EPA-recommended repellent.

The CDC recommends that you use a bug spray with the chemical permethrin on your clothes, but not on your skin.

On your skin, you want to use DEET.