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WebMD
7 hours ago
- Health
- WebMD
Why This Tick Season Is Worse – and How to Protect Yourself
June 16, 2025 – Ready to hit the great outdoors this season? Just make sure you've taken steps to protect yourself from ticks and tickborne illness, which experts say is on the rise. Recent testing in upstate New York found that more than a third of blacklegged ticks – or deer ticks – carry Lyme disease, while 18% harbor anaplasmosis and 11% host babesiosis. Although tick species and diseases vary by region – the American dog tick is associated with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, while the Lone Star tick is linked to ehrlichiosis and Heartland virus – the bottom line is the same nationwide: As ticks spread, the risk of encountering these diseases increases. Why Are Tickborne Illnesses Increasing? With temperatures warming as our climate changes, ticks are spreading to regions that were once too cold. Plus, much of the country has become a friendlier place for whitetail deer – one of the most common hosts for deer ticks – because the animals can easily coexist with humans in urban and suburban areas, said Jean Tsao, PhD, a disease ecology professor at Michigan State University. While deer don't infect ticks with disease (small rodents do), they do play a role in helping ticks multiply and spread. But mostly, we humans have ourselves to blame. "The main driver of the increase is humans either living or going to recreate in natural areas where ticks live," said Tsao. As more people – and their pets – migrate to once largely untouched natural landscapes, they're more likely to have contact with ticks. Following these steps can help keep you safe. Know Your Risk Find out whether the ticks in your area – and areas you plan to visit – are likely to carry disease. In Virginia and North Carolina, Lyme disease has become more common – while South Carolina has Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Michigan has babesiosis. In some parts of the country, like the Northeast and Upper Midwest, a single tick bite can cause multiple infections. Your best bet is to check the CDC's tickborne disease surveillance. If you're visiting a hotspot, take extra precautions, said Saravanan Thangamani, PhD, a tick expert and director of the SUNY Center for Environmental Health and Medicine in Syracuse, New York. Spring and early summer are crucial times for tickborne illness because that's when adult ticks are most active, said Eric Benson, PhD, an entomologist at Clemson University. Use Repellent – Correctly Tick repellents are your first line of defense. The most effective contain active ingredients such as 20%-30% DEET, 20% picaridin, or 30% oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) – the synthetic version, not the "pure" essential oil, which is not EPA-registered. (OLE is not recommended for children under 3.) Reapply every eight to 12 hours, or every six hours for OLE. But don't stop at your skin – spray your clothes and camping gear too. Use the insecticide permethrin, which kills ticks on contact. Just be sure to spray clothes outside and not while you're wearing them. Put them on a hanger and spray per the product's directions. The treatment should last about six washings. Do 3 Things as Soon as You Get Home First: "Take off your clothes and put them in the dryer for 10 minutes at high heat," said Thangamani. That will kill any ticks hiding in your clothes. Then do a tick check. Don't forget under your arms, behind your ears, the back of your knees, and in and around your hair line. Finally, get in the shower – ticks often move around on the skin before biting, and many will simply fall off in the shower. If you have pets, check them, too, to ensure they're not carrying ticks into your home. Find One? Remove It Safely Ticks transmit pathogens while feeding on blood – but that takes between 36 and 48 hours, said Nicole Baumgarth, PhD, a tickborne illness expert at Johns Hopkins University. If you find a tick early, chances are it hasn't had time to infect you yet. And it will be easier to remove, Baumgarth said. Despite all the clever tips and gadgets for removing ticks, fine-tipped tweezers – the pointy kind – are still the most reliable tool for the job. Grab as deep and straight as you can. Avoid twisting, which can cause the body to break, said Baumgarth. If the body breaks, don't panic – the remaining pieces may cause redness and irritation, but probably not illness. Use an alcohol wipe to clean the area and then remove the pieces left behind. If you can't remove them, that's OK – leave them and let your skin heal. Keep the Tick! Put the tick into a zip-top bag and send it to a lab for testing to see if it's a species that carries disease. The Upstate Tick Testing Laboratory is one example, but labs across the country test ticks. Visit Ticknology for help finding a lab in your area. This way, if you end up with symptoms, you can tell your doctor the species of tick that bit you, Thangamani said. Tests for infections like Lyme disease look for antibodies that can take two weeks to show up, so knowing the type of tick that bit you can help guide early care. Watch for Symptoms Lyme disease, caused by borrelia bacteria, is by far the most common tickborne disease in the U.S. and is found in most states. Symptoms can vary because everyone responds to the bacteria differently, but it usually starts with a rash – commonly bull's-eye-shaped, but not always – that appears within three to 30 days. The rash often comes with flu -like symptoms like a fever, headache, extreme fatigue, joint stiffness, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes. Flu-like symptoms could also indicate other tickborne illnesses like anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Call your doctor if you notice symptoms – early treatment is key to a full recovery. Most of these illnesses respond to common antibiotics including doxycycline, amoxicillin, and cefuroxime. A full course of oral antibiotics is standard treatment for Lyme disease and, in more severe cases, intravenous (IV) antibiotics may be required.
New York Times
13 hours ago
- Health
- New York Times
It's Not Just You: The Tick Situation Is Getting Worse
Lately, Shannon LaDeau and her colleagues have had unwelcome visitors at their office in New York's Hudson Valley: ticks, crawling up the building and trying to get through doors. 'Which is kind of alarming,' said Dr. LaDeau, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies who studies the arachnids and the pathogens they carry. As winters get warmer, ticks of several kinds are flourishing. Deer ticks, known for transmitting Lyme disease, are moving farther north. The longhorned tick, which came from overseas, has gained a foothold on the East Coast and begun moving west. Gulf Coast ticks have made it to states like Connecticut and Indiana. The lone star tick, which can make people allergic to red meat, is fanning out from the South and has been found as far as Canada. And even in places long accustomed to them, ticks are becoming more numerous and active for longer stretches of each year. Why is this happening, and how can you protect yourself? We asked the experts. What changes are researchers seeing? Marc Lame, an entomologist and clinical professor emeritus at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, put it simply: 'There are more and different types of ticks around than there used to be, and I don't see that stopping anytime soon.' The spread of individual species can be difficult to track. The longhorned tick, for example, was not identified in the United States until 2017, but a recent study confirmed that it was here as early as 2010. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
