Tick ranges have been expanding steadily across the country, with species like the blacklegged tick moving into areas that had few or none a generation ago. Warming temperatures, milder winters, expanding wildlife, and other factors are pushing ticks, and the diseases they carry, into new regions.
You might have heard that ticks are spreading. And if you’re like a lot of people, you probably wonder if that’s true. In short, it is. In fact, it’s one of the most important things happening in public health right now.
There’s no clearer example than the blacklegged tick (deer tick) that carries Lyme disease, so we’ll start there. It used to be concentrated in a few areas, but it pushed into the Northeast, and then into the Upper Midwest. Then it started going southward and westward from there. Now deer ticks can be found in counties and states where Lyme disease was never reported thirty years ago. And where the ticks go, the case reports follow.
Warming temperatures and milder winters are making it possible for ticks to survive and stay active in places they could not previously. The longer seasons also give them more chances to feed and breed. Suburban development is also pushing people closer to the wooded areas where ticks like to live. And migrating birds also help carry ticks long distances, helping seed new populations far from where a tick started.
For Connecticut, this is familiar territory. The state sits in the heart of long-established Lyme country, and Old Lyme gave the disease its name. But the expansion still matters here. Tick pressure is high, and it’s likely to get higher. The practical implication is that ticks can no longer be treated as somebody else's problem or confined to "known" hotspots. Prevention, personal protection, tick checks, and reducing ticks around your own property, matters everywhere the ticks are heading, which is almost everywhere.
If you're tired of the widening reach of ticks and the diseases they carry, Mosquito Squad of Hartford can help. Mosquito Squad treats the shaded, brushy zones where ticks gather. This can help you to protect your family with up to 90% reduction in pest activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
