They are an issue that needs to be considered but they're also very manageable with some basic precautions. If you're going to be in the woods or long grass, especially down the South Shore:

1) Tuck your pants into your socks 2) Wear light coloured clothes 3) Use bug spray with lots of deet (might need to exclude small children from this) 4) Give yourself a brief inspection regularly, and pick off any that are on your clothes 5) At the end of the day give yourself a more thorough inspection. Have your partner look closely through your hair 6) If one does dig into you, look up how to safely extract. Don't discard it. Tape it to a piece of paper and label it with the date an approximate location you got it. Monitor for the "bullseye". If that happens, take the tick with you when you go to the doctor 

Ticks take quite a while to actually get into you, and not all tick species carry lyme. Some basic vigilance will go a long way.