In Northwest Indiana, peak tick season comes twice. The first is in late spring to early summer, when tiny nymphal ticks are out in full force. The second comes in the fall as the adult ticks become active.
Most people associate ticks with the summer. But the riskiest parts of the year aren’t the ones you’d expect.
Ticks are most dangerous from May to July, because that’s when the nymphs emerge. They are about the size of poppy seeds, which makes them amazingly hard to spot, and they are the ones most to blame for the transmission of Lyme disease. This is also the time of year when families are outdoors the most, which raises the odds of contact right when the riskiest ticks are active.
Fall brings the second peak, from around September through November. Adult blacklegged ticks become active and feed up before winter. It’s much easier to find adult ticks than it is to find nymphs. But even so, you have to look for them. For those who hike and hunt or even do simple yard work in the fall, this can be easy to forget.
Even winter itself won’t make all the problems go away. Ticks are able to shelter under leaf litter and snow. They can then become active again on any thawed day that climbs above roughly 40 degrees. A mild stretch in January can still produce a tick on the dog.
Frustrating, but true: tick season can be any time of year in Northwest Indiana. Late spring and fall are when you need to be the most on-guard. But keep up tick checks any time the ground is bare and the temps are above freezing.
If you're tired of a tick risk that barely takes the winter off, Mosquito Squad of Northwest Indiana can help. Mosquito Squad offers recurring tick control that covers both the spring and fall peaks, helping protect your family with up to 90% reduction in pest activity on a 21-day cycle.
