The Clock Is Ticking on Tick Season

By Sarabeth Lowe, MPH

Ms. Lowe is a Communication Specialist at the University of Delaware Disaster Research Center.

Ticks have been recognized as a threat to public health for more than a century.^1,2 In the midst of the ongoing war between humans and these tiny, parasitic arachnids, experts say we’re currently fighting a losing battle.^3,4 The 2026 tick season, which spans from April to September in the United States (US), is already booming.^4–6 According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were more emergency room visits for tick bites during the month of April than in any year since 2017, up more than 25% from the same month in 2025.^7,8 

This statistic is a dark harbinger of what might lie ahead, but it’s not surprising. It’s part of a broader historical trend marked by an urgency to act on the threat of tickborne diseases (TBDs).^9–12 TBDs are the most prevalent vector-borne diseases—those transmitted by living organisms—in the US.^5,13 According to a study released earlier this year, every state in the contiguous US harbors ixodid (hard) ticks—the type responsible for the vast majority of TBDs in the US—that commonly bite humans and serve as vectors for a range of bacteria, viruses, and pathogens.^3,11,14 On top of this, the number of reported cases of notifiable TBDs has steadily increased, geographic distributions of many ticks have expanded, and new TBD agents have been recognized—all in just the last few decades.¹¹

The risks are changing even in places long accustomed to these blood-sucking creatures, as tick populations flourish and stay active for longer stretches of each year.^4,15–17 With the dog days of summer drawing nearer, here’s an overview of what you need to know to stay safe in the coming months.

What It Takes: TBD Development and Transmission

Ticks are small, parasitic bugs related to spiders and mites that feed on the blood of humans and animals to survive. Not all of them carry disease, but all have the potential to serve as vectors (ie, carriers) of the bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoans that do cause them. As these arachnids leap from host to host over the course of their 2- to 3-year life cycle, they absorb pathogens, passing them along in their next bite.^5,18–20 These TBDs can eventually be transmitted to humans. Some of these viruses and bacteria can be harmful to our health and cause debilitating or lethal illness without proper and timely treatment. 

So far, 19 different tickborne pathogens have been identified in the US.^3,15,21 Ticks can also simultaneously carry more than 1 TBD; these multipathogenic bites can lead to co-infections.^21–24 For example, the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), one of the most widely distributed species in the US, can harbor 7 different infectious agents known to cause illness in humans, including the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.^14,25–29 

Disease risk is influenced by multiple factors beyond mere tick presence and geographic distribution.^14,30,31 The likelihood of contracting a TBD or specific infection depends on 4 factors:

Tick species. Not all ticks are created equal. Infection-specific risks depend on the tick’s species, feeding behavior, geographic location, life stage, and preferred and available hosts.^{5,9,11,13,22,29–36} They also feed on a variety of animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, but both parties—the tick and the host—don’t necessarily have the same disease-carrying and transmitting capacity. 

Pathogen. Different ticks carry different diseases, and not all pathogens behave the same. For example, Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, cannot be transmitted by the lone star tick because a chemical in its saliva destroys it.^{13,29,37–40} Similarly, not all hosts are effective TBD reservoirs. This is demonstrated in the Southeastern US, where ticks prefer to feed on lizards, specifically skinks, whose blood kills the Lyme disease bacterium.^29,41,42

Timing. Ticks need to feed for a minimum amount of time to transmit diseases. However, research on the exact time frame for disease transmission varies, particularly when assessing the risk posed by specific tick species and infections. Research has yet to establish a minimum tick attachment time.^43–46 The general consensus among experts is that ticks should be removed as soon as possible but that a matter of seconds between techniques does not impact rates of transmission.

Immune system response. Your immune system interacts with TBDs differently, sending out specific cells and/or molecules to respond to the pathogen it encounters. These mechanisms and their response times can inhibit symptoms during the acute infection phase, but not contain the pathogen. That task is up to your body’s T- and B-cell responses, which are able to induce long-term protection against tickborne microbes.^47–50 

Tick Triage: Handling Bites

If you find a tick on your body, remove it as soon as possible, but don’t panic. Time is of the essence, so do not wait to go to a healthcare provider. Currently, only the time from tick attachment to removal (rather than the method itself) has been shown to affect the transmission of disease.^44,51 Techniques vary, and there are no clinically proven, evidence-based guidelines for the safe removal of ticks.⁴⁴ However, the CDC provides specific instructions on the matter.⁵²

Grasp. Using (ideally) fine-tipped or regular tweezers or your fingers, grasp the tick by its head as close to the skin’s surface as possible. Do not crush its body.

Pull. Without twisting or jerking, pull the tick away from the skin with slow, steady pressure. Do not use petroleum jelly, heat, nail polish, or any other substance to remove the tick.

Dispose. Discard the live tick’s body in 1 of 4 ways: place it in a sealed container; wrap it tightly in tape; flush it down the toilet; or put it in rubbing alcohol. 

Clean. Once the tick is removed, thoroughly clean the bitten area and your hands with water, rubbing alcohol, or hand sanitizer.

There are laboratories and commercial groups that can test ticks for disease. However, the CDC does not recommend pursuing this route for several reasons. These testing facilities are not required to meet the high safety and quality control standards of clinical diagnostic laboratories.^52,53 Results can also be misleading and should not be used for treatment decisions. A disease-carrying tick does not guarantee an infected bite, and negative results can lead to false assurance and not provide a full picture of risks.

However, taking a picture of the tick before disposing of it can provide useful information for healthcare providers if you do contract TBD symptoms. A tick’s shape and color can help identify the species, giving healthcare providers a better idea of which TBD it might have carried. This information can also help with disease surveillance. 

Surveillance and Data: Tracking the Pulse of TBD

The CDC provides TBD surveillance through its National Tick Surveillance Program (NTSP).^54,55 The health initiative was established in 2018 to foster more cooperation between local, state, and federal public health authorities. However, the usefulness of this data is undermined by several factors. Incomplete records, high variation in TBD reporting, and vaguely or incompletely defined variables have hampered the data’s usefulness.^54,56,57 Furthermore, tick surveillance is costly and labor-intensive. Much of this data comes from a patchwork of sources, including university partners, various government agencies, and state health departments, which are often stretched thin and face limited resources and competing priorities.

To fill these gaps, the CDC has partnered with the US Department of Agriculture to establish a National Center for Tick Surveillance (NCTS). The 3-year initiative, started in 2023, aims to collaborate with public and private partners to gather data and create a “publicly accessible, searchable database on tick and tickborne pathogen prevalence.”⁵⁸ The hope is that this passive surveillance network will be strengthened over time as more data accumulates and matures, and eventually provide tick identification and testing services for a nominal fee.

Safety and Prevention: Enjoying Summer Safely

Unfortunately, Lyme disease vacines and anti-tick treatments are only available for dogs.^16,59 When it comes to preventing TBDs, your best bet is to avoid bites in the first place. Consider the following tips to reduce your risk.

Choose your tools. What you wear can be your first line of defense in preventing tick bites.⁴³ Protect and cover your skin by wearing long sleeves and long pants, and tucking them into socks for the best protection. Clothing and gear can also be treated with permethrin, a powerful insecticide that has been shown to effectively incapacitate ticks and undermine their biting behavior.^60–62 Light-colored clothing can make ticks easier to spot and remove.

Navigate mindfully. If you are going into forested or brushy areas, avoid areas with high grass, fallen trees, and leaf litter. Walk in the center of any trails and avoid sitting down in wooded areas. Don’t stop being wary at the trailhead, though. Ticks can also be picked up closer to home, particularly in the yard and tree-lined areas.

Do a tick check. Luckily, ticks normally don’t bite immediately and can wander around the body for several hours before attaching to the skin.^20,63 This means there are plenty of opportunities to reduce your exposure. Always inspect your clothes, body, and pets for any parasitic hitchhikers before you enter your house. Ticks tend to bite soft-skinned parts of the body, including the neck, in and around the ears and hairline, armpits, between the toes, the backs of the knees, the waist, and the navel. Be sure to carefully and thoroughly inspect these areas. Showering can help wash away ticks that you might have missed.

Create a tick-safe yard. Create a tick-safe yard by reducing places they are likely to inhabit. Clear any tall or loose brush from the area where possible, and keep lived-in areas, such as swing sets, gardens, decks, and patios, away from yard edges and trees. Research shows that regular lawn mowing to maintain shorter grass likely has a negligible effect on reducing ticks; this is partly because such areas are already ill-suited environments for them.^64,65 Pesticides can also reduce the number of ticks in your yard, but these products should not be used as a first line of defense. On top of potentially disrupting other wildlife, their effectiveness in killing and repelling ticks can vary, and laws on their use can depend on local or federal regulations.^66–70

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