What’s Behind the Surge in Ticks This Year?

Posted by Mosquito Squad Plus

September 21, 2026

What’s Behind the Surge in Ticks This Year?

There are several overlapping forces at play behind this year’s tick activity in Massachusetts.

For starters, winters are not eliminating ticks. Additionally, wildlife host populations are abundant, and seasons of longer tick activity are allowing ticks more opportunities to find a bloodmeal.

Perhaps Newton area residents expected a break from ticks after a cold, snowy winter. However, the unfortunate truth is that these stealthy pests are much better equipped to handle New England weather than we would prefer.

Snow Doesn’t Eliminate, It Protects Ticks from Sever Cold

With direct, prolonged exposure to extreme cold, ticks can die off. The important part of that statement is: direct. Deer ticks, also known as black-legged ticks, shelter from the elements beneath fallen leaves and snow, while other species burrow into protected areas. All ticks need for winter survival in our area is a dependable layer of snow to insulate the ground and shield them from dramatic swings in air temperatures.

UMass Extension warned that the cold, snowy Massachusetts winter of 2026 was not likely to noticeably reduce tick populations. While some ticks certainly did fall victim to winter weather conditions, enough of them survived, making spring and summer tick precautions just as important as ever.

Ticks are pests that play a numbers game that bodes well for survival. Depending on the tick species, one female might lay literally thousands of eggs. And while most offspring do not survive to adulthood, even a small survival rate can produce plenty of ticks.

Wildlife Supports the Tick Life Cycle

Ticks require blood hosts for meals through different life stages. Mice, chipmunks, deer, birds, and other animals provide those meals and help ticks move through (or into) our environment. This can extend well beyond a woodland environment, especially in suburban neighborhoods with wooded edges, plenty of leaf litter, dense ground cover, and regular wildlife traffic. That adorable squirrel or rabbit could be carrying ticks onto your property.

Contrary to what some believe, deer do not transmit Lyme disease to ticks. Lyme disease is most often transmitted to ticks by the white-footed mouse and similar small animals, infecting tick in their larval life stage. Deer, however, are essential wildlife hosts for adult black-legged ticks and contribute greatly to their reproduction.

Tick Season Keeps Expanding in Massachusetts

Black-legged ticks can remain active whenever temperatures remain above freezing, minus snow-covered grounds. Here in Massachusetts, we experience two peak tick activity periods; one in spring and early summer and another during October and November. With warmer early springtime and early autumn seasons, ticks continue questing – and people and pets are usually outside too.

This doesn’t mean that every tick out there is carrying an illness, but it does mean that we should keep tick checks in force for ourselves and our pets after spending time outdoors in warm weather.

Mosquito Squad Plus of Newton offers tick control through your choice of a 6-month duration Mosquito Barrier Treatment plan, a 7-month duration Squad Home Shield® plan, or a year-round Complete Home & Yard plan.

And depending on the outdoor pest control package you choose, you’ll enjoy protection from up to more than 40 pests.

Looking for Tick Control in Newton and Surrounding Areas?

Put Mosquito Squad Plus of Newton’s mosquito and pest control to work for you. We are pleased to serve the following towns and the surrounding Newton MA area with tried and trusted mosquito control and outdoor pest control that extends beyond mosquitoes and beyond springtime and summer.

Search for Newton tick control and call Mosquito Squad Plus!

Mosquito Squad Plus of Newton offers tried and trusted tick control and various outdoor pest control solutions throughout the Newton MA area.

For additional information, or to schedule your free pest assessment and quote, get in touch with Mosquito Squad Plus Newton by calling (617) 843-3602 or filling out our form here.