FORT COLLINS, Colorado – Tick season is beginning in the U.S., and experts warn that the bloodsuckers could be as abundant as ever.
Another mild winter and other favorable factors likely mean the 2024 tick population will be the same as last year’s or higher, some researchers say.
“It’s really bad and it’s only getting worse,” said Susanna Visser of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An ever-increasing variety of ticks are penetrating new geographic areas, bringing unusual diseases. Exotic southern species such as the Gulf Coast tick and the lone star tick are being detected in New York and other northern states, for example.
But the tick that experts warn most about is the common black-legged tick, found mainly in forests and which spreads Lyme disease. Infection rates begin to peak in May, and U.S. health officials estimate that nearly half a million Lyme disease infections occur annually.
Here’s a look at what’s expected this year and how you can protect yourself.
Ticks are small, eight-legged blood-sucking parasites – arachnids, not insects – that feed on animals and sometimes people. Some ticks are infected with germs that can cause illness and spread these germs when they bite.
There is no widely accepted estimate of how many ticks there are from one year to the next, but there is scientific consensus that they are an increasingly common health hazard in large parts of the United States.
Blacklegged ticks — also known as deer ticks since they feed on deer — are among the most common ticks in the eastern half of the US. They were abundant centuries ago, then declined when forests were cut down and deer were hunted, and have recovered alongside deer and wooded suburbs. Ticks have spread from pockets in New England and the Midwest to a broader area in the South and Great Plains.
Tick populations circulate throughout the year and their numbers depend on some factors. They like warm, humid weather, and more can be seen after a mild winter. The more deer and mice available to feed also matters.
Overall, the blacklegged tick population has been expanding for at least four decades, researchers say.
“This is a slow-motion epidemic,” said Rebecca Eisen, a CDC research biologist and tick expert.
Weather can play a role in the severity of tick season.
Very cold, dry winters can reduce tick populations, but recent winters have been mild – a trend some attribute to climate change.
As Scott Williams, a tick researcher at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, said: “Winters are no longer limiting the tick population.”
Ticks can withstand the heat, but they tend to almost hibernate when the summer is dry. This happened in Maine from 2020 to 2022, said Chuck Lubelczyk, a vector ecologist at the MaineHealth Institute for Research.
But last year was very rainy and tick activity multiplied in Maine – the state with the highest incidence of Lyme disease in the country. Forecasts from meteorological services point to higher temperatures and precipitation, so “on paper, at least, it could be a very good year for ticks,” said Lubelczyk.
In Wisconsin, adult ticks were out longer than usual due to a mild winter. Tick nymphs are beginning to emerge and a wet spring is setting the stage for the possibility of the population being robust, said Xia Lee, an entomologist with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
The same goes for New York.
“It will be as bad as last year, or worse,” said Saravanan Thangamani, who studies ticks and tick-borne diseases at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse.
Not all ticks are infected with disease-causing germs – about 20% to 30% of black-legged tick nymphs emerging in the Northeast and Midwest this spring and summer will carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, experts estimate.
Symptoms of Lyme disease tend to begin between three and 30 days after a bite occurs and can include fever, headache, fatigue, and a target-like rash. If you are stung and develop symptoms, see a doctor for antibiotic treatment.
Experts say the best thing to do is take steps to avoid a tick bite.
If you go outdoors, take note of wooded areas and where grassy properties start to spill into wooded areas. Ticks tend to land on ankle-high vegetation with their legs outstretched, waiting to latch onto an unsuspecting dog or human.
Try to walk in the middle of paths, wear light-colored clothing treated with permethrin, and use insect repellents registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
When you enter, check for ticks. They can be found anywhere on the human body, but common spots include around the waist, behind the knees, between the fingers and toes, under the armpits, in the belly button, and around the neck or hairline.
They are harder to see when they are young, so look closely and remove them immediately with tweezers.
The CDC does not recommend sending individual ticks to testing services for analysis because a person may receive more than one tick bite and the results from the tested tick may not be enough information.
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