How Bad Is Tick Season This Year?
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Fact checked by Nick Blackmer
Key Takeaways
Ticks are small spider-like creatures that feed on the blood of birds, reptiles, mammals, and humans.
They are usually found in moist and humid environments, including wooded and grassy spaces in addition to areas near streams, rivers, swamps, and lakes.
This year’s mild winter has led to an increase in the number of ticks this season and more cases of tick-borne infections than in previous seasons.
To prevent tick bites, experts say you should use a tick repellent/spray, wear light-colored and long-sleeve clothing, avoid high-risk tick areas/habitats, and check for ticks daily.
Summer is in full swing across the United States, which means more people are out and about enjoying time outdoors. But hotter temperatures also bring along pesky ticks and tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease.
Unfortunately, the risk of tick-borne diseases which can cause rashes, fever, and muscle pain is on the rise. According to a 2018 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cases of tick-borne diseases more than doubled from 2004 to 2016.
Surveillance data from the CDC also shows that tick bites caused more than 100 out of every 100,000 emergency department visits in May and June (which is higher than any other month since 2019).
There’s a few reasons why tick season is worse than usual—and a few things experts say you can do about it.
Related: Common and Unusual Symptoms of Lyme Disease
Is Tick Season Particularly Bad This Year?
Several factors can contribute to the increasing case numbers and widening geographic extent of tick-borne diseases, Tom Skinner, a spokesperson for the CDC, told Verywell in an email. For instance, he said the spread of Lyme disease over the past several decades has been linked to changes in land use patterns, including reforestation in the northeastern United States.
“Suburban development in these areas has brought people, deer, rodents, ticks, and the germs ticks carry into close contact with each other,” Skinner said.
Related: Climate Change Will Aggravate the Spread of More Than 200 Infectious Diseases
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in fewer cases of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases to be reported by state health departments in 2020 and 2021, Skinner added.
“These decreases in reported cases likely result from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on tick-borne disease surveillance rather than an actual decrease in the numbers of tick-borne diseases,” he said.
But other experts, including Craig Bober, DO, a family medicine physician at Inspira Medical Group Primary Care Mantua, say the severity of tick season is determined by the previous winter’s severity.
“This year’s winter was warmer than average, which supports why ticks are worse than ever this past year,” he said. “During warmer winters, ticks have more time to mate, which can sometimes lead to thousands of eggs being laid.”
Given the mild winter this year, Bober said we can expect to have a greater number of ticks as they have more time to breed. During colder months, ticks usually hide and lay dormant, therefore having less opportunity to grow rapidly.
However, it’s important to note that in any given year, the number of ticks varies from region to region, state to state, and even county to county, Skinner added. The number of reported tick-borne disease cases is also affected by healthcare provider awareness and by testing and reporting practices.
“That said, each year nearly half a million people will be diagnosed and treated for a tick borne disease,” he said. “In that sense, every year is a big year for tick-borne diseases.”
How to Identify a Tick
Ticks are small, spider-like creatures that feed on the blood of birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and humans. Although ticks are commonly thought of as insects, they are actually arachnids, which puts them in the same family as spiders and scorpions. Though the adults have eight legs, the larvae have only six.
These parasitic creatures vary in size, but usually, they are between 1 millimeter to 1 centimeter long. Per the CDC, adult ticks are about the size of a sesame or apple seed. Unlike some similar-looking creatures, they have no antennae.
Where Do Ticks Live?
Ticks can be found in different habitats throughout the world, however, they most commonly thrive in humid and moist environments, such as wooded, brushy, and grassy areas, Paul Auwaerter, MD, clinical director in the Division of Infectious Diseases and a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told Verywell in an email.
They also favor areas near water like streams, rivers, marshes, swamps, and lakes that serve as hospitable surroundings for white-footed mice, deer, and other mammals that ticks like to feed upon, Auwaerter said.
“Ticks are sensitive to very dry conditions, which is why they prefer tall grass and high vegetative growth so they can stay out of direct sun keeping them moist and warm,” said Bober.
In addition, ticks prefer more populated spots to be closer to their food source, so you may occasionally find them around your lawn, backyard, garden, parks, picnic areas, and the edges of woods and forests.
Where and When Do Ticks Bite?
Ticks can attach themselves and bite you on any area of your body, but they prefer warm and moist environments like the groin, neck, and armpit, Bober said. They may also attach themselves or crawl to areas with thinner skin such as the ankles, wrists, and behind the knees.
But Auwaerter explained where they bite can depend on the type of tick it is. For example, black-legged ticks, commonly called the deer tick, favor those warm and moist areas on the human body like under the breasts and arms. Other ticks like the dog ticks favor hairy environments and are often found attached to the scalp.
Ticks can bite at any time of the day and exposure to ticks can occur year-round, Bober said. However, they are most active during warmer months (between April and September), according to the CDC.
Types of Ticks in the U.S.
There are about eight to 10 different species of ticks that live in the United States. People should check with their local health department to see which ones live in their area and what diseases they can spread, David Cutler, MD, family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, told Verywell.
Some well-known tick species in the U.S. include the black-legged tick, lone star tick, American dog tick, brown dog tick, groundhog tick, gulf coast tick, rocky mountain wood tick, soft tick, and western black-legged tick. The ticks that commonly bite humans are the black-legged tick, the lone star tick, and the American dog tick.
Why Ticks Can Pose a Health Threat
Although most ticks don’t carry disease, some can cause common tick illnesses, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, tularemia, and Tick-Borne relapsing fever.
The most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States is Lyme disease. In 2010, there were more than 22,500 confirmed and 7,500 probable cases of Lyme disease reported to the CDC.
According to Cutler, most people won’t experience any symptoms from a tick bite, but tick bites can cause rashes, small hard bumps or sores, redness, swelling, fever and chills, aches and pains, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, and joint pain.
“Those symptoms could apply to many diseases. So just because you have a tick and you have those symptoms, does not mean you necessarily have those diseases,” Cutler said. “Special blood tests would need to be done to differentiate whether or not tick-borne illness actually exists and which tick-borne infection it is.”
Related: How Lyme Disease Is Diagnosed
What to Do If You Find a Tick on Yourself
According to Bober, not all ticks are dangerous and most of them do not transmit infections or disease. However, if you find a tick on your skin, remove it immediately to reduce your chances of getting sick.
You’ll typically see a bite mark if you were, in fact, bitten. A tick can also embed in your skin. But Bober said be alert that ticks can often be mistaken as moles or skin tags.
“If you do get bitten, remove the tick out as soon as possible as the chance of getting Lyme disease is very small if a tick is attached to your skin for less than 24 hours,” he said.
Related: Identifying a Tick Bite From Pictures
While there are several tick removal devices on the market, a plain set of tweezers will work just fine, Skinner added. Be sure to use clean tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible and pull upward with steady, even pressure.
Once you remove the tick, clean the bite area and your hands with soap and water or rubbing alcohol, according to the CDC. In addition, you should dispose of the tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet.
If you suspect you were bitten by a tick, be sure to monitor for flu-like symptoms, rashes, joint aches, and fever, said Bober. If you develop any of these symptoms, visit your doctor and be sure to tell them about your recent tick bite, when it occurred, and where you most likely got the tick.
He added your provider can test for tick-borne illnesses and provide antibiotics and medications if needed to prevent diseases from occurring.
“These [tests] can be performed if you are asymptomatic but concerned about underlying infection,” Bober said. “Talk to your doctor about prophylactic antibiotics, which can be given early to prevent infection caused by some ticks.”
How to Protect Yourself From Ticks
To prevent tick bites and reduce the risk of tick-borne diseases, experts say there are some preventative measures you can take.
Avoid high-risk tick environments and habitats like wooded and brushy areas with high grass—especially when spending time outdoors camping, gardening, or hunting.
Use an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered tick repellent/spray that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, p-menthane-3,8-diol (also called para-menthane-diol or PMD), 2-undecanone, or IR3535. (You can use the EPA’s search tool to find a product that best suits your needs).
Cover up in protective clothing like long-sleeved shirts, pants, and closed-toe shoes to help prevent ticks from latching directly onto your skin. Since ticks are generally red, black, and dark brown, you may want to wear light-colored clothing so you can spot and identify them more easily.
Tuck pants or long-sleeve bottoms into your socks/shoes to prevent ticks from latching on and having direct access to your skin.
Treat your clothing and outdoor gear with products that contain 0.5% permethrin. Permethrin is a broad-spectrum insect repellent that can be used to treat boots, clothing, and camping gear.
Shower within two hours after being outdoors to help wash off any unattached ticks on your body. This can also be a good opportunity to get rid of ticks you did not see or missed during a routine check.
Check yourself, your children, and your pets daily for ticks, especially after being outdoors. Inspect under the arms, in and around the ears and hair, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, and around the waist.
What This Means For You
Ticks can bite any area of your body at any time of the day, and more ticks are expected this year than usual. Take preventative measures to protect yourself from tick bites, like wearing long-sleeved clothing, using tick repellent, and checking your body for ticks daily.
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