Yes, ticks live in Chicago's parks, forest preserves, lakefront green spaces, and even landscaped areas around the city.
When you think of ticks, you probably don’t think of busy city streets. But they can live here quite comfortably even right in the middle of downtown Chicago.
Ticks need cover, humidity, and hosts to survive. The city provides all three in its green spaces. Cook County keeps extensive forest preserves, city and neighborhood parks, and grassy and wooded stretches. Cemeteries, golf courses, and even shrubby landscaping around buildings give ticks the shaded, vegetated conditions they need. And urban wildlife like deer, mice, chipmunks, rabbits, raccoons, and ground-feeding birds thrive in the city. This keeps ticks fed and moving.
Migratory and resident birds deserve special mention, because they carry ticks considerable distances and drop them in new spots, helping seed tick populations in urban green space that might otherwise seem isolated from "tick country."
That’s not to say you’re likely to pick up a tick walking down Michigan Avenue. But if you spend time in forest preserves or walking a dog through a grassy park, you might pick up a tick along the way. And this could be trouble because the blacklegged ticks that carry Lyme disease are increasingly expanding their range in Illinois. Urban residents are not exempt from this.
In practice, it means city dwellers should still watch out for ticks. Use repellent in grassy or wooded park areas, and do a tick check after time in the preserves. Keep pets on preventatives, and, if you have a yard, treat the shaded brushy zones where ticks might gather.
If you're tired of assuming ticks are somebody else's problem, Mosquito Squad of Chicago can help. Mosquito Squad treats the shaded, vegetated zones where ticks wait. This can help you protect your family with up to 90% reduction in pest activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
