They typically attach without causing any pain or discomfort- their salivary glands actually have a numbing effect on the skin. At the end of feeding, typically anywhere from 12 hours to a few days, they drop off. This is VERY low. ANyway, there's a mini-lecture on Lyme in California. The CDC tracking figures estimate that for every case tracked there are 10 others.
MANY people are completely seronegative.
They are almost identical. The CDC has no idea whether or not it is sexually transmitted, which the Lyme ocmmunity wonders about because of its similarities to syphilis. Babesia is a protozoan, not bacterial- and will remain unaffected by most antibiotics.