Tick season is ramping up in Ontario. Here's how you can protect yourself from bites — and Lyme disease

Toronto Star

21-05-2025

It's looking to be another tick-filled summer in Ontario as factors including climate change grant the Lyme disease-spreading insects footholds in areas they've never been seen before.
More than a thousand ticks capable of transmitting the potentially debilitating disease have already been reported in the province as tick season ramps up, with the large majority of sightings centred in the Toronto area.
Here's what you need to know about ticks,
Gta
Explainer
Ticks can crawl into your hair or hide in your belly button. Here's how to protect yourself and your pets from Lyme disease
An expert explains how to avoid and identify ticks, and what to do when you or a pet has been bitten. All of Toronto is considered an estimated
Gta
Explainer
Ticks can crawl into your hair or hide in your belly button. Here's how to protect yourself and your pets from Lyme disease
An expert explains how to avoid and identify ticks, and what to do when you or a pet has been bitten. All of Toronto is considered an estimated
Ticks and Lyme disease in Ontario
As of Wednesday morning, 1,078 Lyme disease-spreading black-legged ticks were reported in Ontario this year, 686 of which were found on people, according to online tick registry eTick.ca. The large majority of reports came from southern Ontario, near the Toronto area.
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This year's numbers are slightly behind the 1,149 ticks spotted by the same time in 2024, and the 941 in 2023.
Across Canada, 1,791 of the bugs have spotted this year, compared to 1,846 counted in the same time period in 2023.
Public Health Ontario reported 52 cases of Lyme disease across January and February, according to its latest public health surveillance report. That's an increase from the 48 cases in the same time period in 2024, and the 40 cases in 2023
Jade Savage, the creator of eTick and a professor at Bishop's University, previously told the Star Canada's first tick was spotted in Ontario roughly 50 years ago. Since then, the bugs have been 'slowly expanding its range' — and Lyme disease cases have soared exponentially.
Approximately 5,239 people nationwide were diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2024, according to preliminary Health Canada data. That's a more than 36-fold increase from 2009, when only 144 cases of Lyme disease were reported nationwide.
Katie Clow, an assistant professor at the Ontario Veterinary College specializing in tick-borne illness, previously told the Star 'most of the evidence supports that it's climate change that is driving' the rise in Lyme disease.
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Much of Canada is too cold for most ticks to reproduce. But with warmer summers and shorter winters, the bugs have been able to spread to new areas, she said.
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When and where are ticks most active?
According to Savage, blacklegged ticks are most active anytime from spring to fall; adults are more common in the spring and fall, and nymphs — an early life stage of the tick — are more common in late spring to early summer.
These time periods aren't set in stone — the blacklegged tick can survive year-round 'as long as temperatures are above zero,' Savage said. But if it's too hot, like in the height of summer, they can also dry out easily.
Health Canada has highlighted at-risk areas on their interactive map. These areas mostly stick close to the border, and include major cities like Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Victoria and Halifax.
Enter your postal code on Health Canada's Lyme disease monitoring page to check if your neighbourhood is at risk.
What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in Canada. While it can be effectively treated if caught early on, management becomes much more difficult later in its progression.
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Symptoms of Lyme disease generally appear in two stages, the first often manifesting days after a bite, and the second sometimes taking months to materialize, George Chaconas, a professor specializing in Lyme disease at the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, told the Star.
In the first stage, about half of people bitten develop a rash shaped like a bullseye at the site of the bite, Chaconas said. If you find an expanding, target-shaped rash on your body, speak to your doctor immediately. Rashes may also take other shapes or not appear at all.
This stage can be treated with a two to three week course of antibiotics: 'Treated Lyme disease typically goes away and the story is over,' said Chaconas. 'But not always.'
Once the infection hits the blood, it can travel to different parts of the body, causing different symptoms depending on where it lands and making treatment far more difficult or impossible, he continued.
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Cases of Lyme disease have increased more than 1,000 per cent in a decade as the warming climate pushes the boundaries of a range of pathogens and
Canada
As Canada warms, infectious disease risks spread north
Cases of Lyme disease have increased more than 1,000 per cent in a decade as the warming climate pushes the boundaries of a range of pathogens and
Symptoms can range from rashes and headaches to severe joint pain and memory loss, according to Health Canada. In rare cases, it can cause fatal heart infections.
Similar to long COVID, some people with Lyme disease develop posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome, or PTLDS, and end up with symptoms that persist for 'weeks, months and years,' Chaconas said.
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A recent study found over 27 per cent of people tested with Lyme disease developed long-term symptoms.
How can we protect ourselves from tick bites?
The most important thing to do is familiarize yourself with what a tick looks like and perform routine tick checks after hiking or other activities, Sperling previously told the Star.
She recommends checking for ticks while bathing, when you're already undressed: 'If you're in the shower and you feel a little lump in your hair, go get somebody to actually look for you,' she said. 'Don't assume that you can ignore it.'
If you spot an attached tick, grab some clean, fine tipped tweezers and pinch the bug as close to the skin as possible. Using slow, even pressure, pull the tick directly up out of your skin, trying to keep the mouth parts intact. Then thoroughly clean the area with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.
The longer the tick is attached, the more likely it is to transmit diseases, including Lyme disease, so it's crucial to remove ticks as soon as possible, Sperling said.
She strongly recommends saving the tick in the freezer, in a bag labelled with the date and location of the bite. That way if you develop symptoms later, you can take the tick directly to the doctor to have it tested.
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When walking in nature, Sperling recommends tucking your pants into your socks or at least wearing long clothing if possible. Light-coloured clothing is best, because then you could better spot ticks if they're on you.
As ticks prefer the cool of tall grasses and foliage, try to keep your lawn short in summer and take extra care when walking through brushes and thick foliage, she said.
'Ticks have been around since before the dinosaurs so they're well adapted to survive,' Sperling said. 'We need to learn to live with them.'