The early winter was mild, then the snow cover gave ticks insulation through the worst winter cold. At the same time, wildlife host populations remained strong and tick ranges, in general, have been expanding.
You may have heard that Massachusetts is going to have a bad tick season in 2026, but you may be unsure if it’s hype or a real problem. Unfortunately, the data suggests that it’s going to be a real problem, and for a lot of different overlapping reasons.
The early part of the winter in 2025–2026 was unusually mild in the Northeast. This was enough to give ticks favorable conditions as they headed into dormancy. Then regular snowfall afterward insulated the ground and protected overwintering ticks from the lethal temperature drops that usually thin their numbers. So more ticks survived the winter, meaning the population is already off to a much stronger start than usual.
At the same time, trees have made more acorns than usual due to the weather. This gave wildlife like white-footed mice and chipmunks more to eat, sustaining their populations. Those animals are hosts to ticks, which meant the ticks had yet more places to survive throughout the winter. More hosts mean more tick larvae and nymphs, and that’s bad news since these are the ticks most responsible for transmitting Lyme disease.
Researchers are already seeing the results of this unusual winter in real time. Tick testing labs across the region have reported submission rates running well ahead of schedule, with activity in early spring hitting levels normally not seen until late May or June. Infection rates in submitted ticks are also elevated, with some labs reporting Lyme-positive rates above long-term averages.
Massachusetts, even in a typical year, is already one of the highest-incidence states for tick-borne disease. It’s essential, this year even more than other years, to do daily tick checks and to wear long sleeves and pants in vegetated areas. If you find a tick on yourself, remove it quickly as most diseases takes 24 hours or more to transmit.
If you are a homeowner in Franklin or Framingham and you want to reduce ticks on your own property, Mosquito Squad of Franklin & Framingham is here to help. Tick control treatments start in early spring, with re-treatment every 3 weeks through the fall. Regular treatment can help reduce tick populations on your property by up to 90%.
