Yes, a serious one. Connecticut is where Lyme disease was first identified, and the state consistently ranks among the highest in the nation for tick-borne illness.
If you've been finding ticks on yourself, your kids, or your pets and wondering whether Connecticut is really that bad for ticks, the answer is unambiguous. It is, and it has been for decades.
Lyme disease gets its name from Lyme, Connecticut, dating all the way back to 1975. And since then, the state has reported about 2,700 cases per year since tracking began. The blacklegged tick (AKA deer tick) is the main carrier of infected ticks and you can find it in every single county in the state.
Recent surveillance from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station shows that tick activity in 2026 is off to an unusually early and aggressive start, with submission rates reaching levels typically not seen until May or June. Testing has also found that 40% of submitted ticks are carrying the Lyme disease bacterium, which is above the long-term average of 32%.
Lyme disease isn’t the only problem. Blacklegged ticks in Connecticut also carry a lot of other pathogens, including ones responsible for anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Powassan virus. A single tick bite can transmit more than one of these at the same time.
You might think that you have to be deep in the woods to get bitten by a tick, but that’s not so. You can go outside in your backyard in Suburbia, CT and still end up with a tick or two on your legs. Or your kids’ legs. Residential yards with shaded edges, garden beds, and ground cover provide everything ticks need to establish and wait for hosts.
You’re not powerless, though. The #1 thing you can do to keep yourself safe is to do daily tick checks. Ticks have to be attached for at least 24 hours to transmit Lyme disease. If you’re going to be in high-risk areas, wear long pants and sleeves and use EPA-registered repellents containing DEET or permethrin. And on your property, it’s a good idea to remove leaf litter, trim vegetation, mow the grass, and if you have a bad tick problem, create dry buffer zones of gravel or mulch between your lawn and wooded edges.
For Hartford homeowners who want professional-level protection, Mosquito Squad of Hartford's tick control services can help with barrier treatments. These are applied to the shaded, high-risk zones across your yard every 21 days. This is done by a trained technician who walks your property to target treatment where tick populations concentrate, helping reduce exposure throughout the season.
