Ticks can start biting as early as temperatures reach the mid-30s in Massachusetts. The season often starts in March, and peak activity runs from April through September, with a second spike in October and November for adult deer ticks.
If you've been waiting for summer to start thinking about ticks, then you’re already behind. Most people associate ticks with warm weather. But in Massachusetts, the season starts much earlier and runs much later than most expect.
There are two distinct peaks when it comes to tick activity around here. The first runs from April to July, and it’s driven by nymph ticks. These are the juvenile blacklegged ticks that are responsible for most human Lyme disease infections. They're the size of a poppy seed, active when people are spending time outdoors, and easy to miss during tick checks. About 20% of nymphs in the region carry Lyme bacteria. Activity levels off in the hottest, driest weeks of midsummer, but they don’t stop entirely, especially not in shaded spots.
The second peak comes in October and November when adult blacklegged ticks are most active. Adults are larger and easier to spot, but they carry Lyme at even higher rates. Recent Dartmouth research found roughly 50% of adult blacklegged ticks in the Northeast are infected. Adults stay active until sustained cold and snow drive them dormant. In mild falls, that extends into December.
The lone star tick is also expanding into Massachusetts, and it’s active May to August. It doesn’t carry Lyme disease, but it can transmit ehrlichiosis and is linked to alpha-gal syndrome, which can trigger a red meat allergy. American dog ticks are active April through August and can carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Between the three species, tick pressure comes from multiple directions across a long season.
But you can do something about this. Once you know where ticks like to hide, you can both avoid those areas and treat them. That includes wooded edges, leaf litter, stone walls, brush piles, and other shaded and humid places. Ticks don’t like sun and heat exposure, which is why your open, sunny lawn is generally low-risk. That’s also why keeping a mowed buffer between living areas and wooded borders is one of the simplest prevention measures.
Early treatment can help a ton here. Starting professional tick control in early spring can help you cut down the population before nymph activity peaks. And if you’re looking for more direction, the 6 C's of tick control can tell you more about what you can do at home.
If you’re a homeowner in Boston Metro South and you want to stay ahead of tick season from the start, Mosquito Squad of Boston Metro South can help. This can be done with early-season tick control treatments that help reduce tick populations by up to 85-90%. A treatment will then be applied to your yard every 21 days, starting in spring and going through fall. This helps protect you from both nymph and adult ticks through the whole long tick season.
