An early arrival of spring has outdoor enthusiasts heading into the woods, and they aren’t alone. PJ Liesch, an Extension Entomologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab, notes that while official field surveys take years to map exact population shifts, the immediate feedback from the public leans toward a higher awareness to ticks.
“When I think of what I’ve seen at my lab recently, I have seen plenty of tick samples coming in, chatting with colleagues as well,” Liesch said. “It does seem to be a good tick year based on reports.”
Tick activity is heavily tied to weather patterns. Ticks become active anytime temperatures climb above freezing. Due to an early start to spring, humans and pets are crossing paths with ticks much earlier than usual.
Mitigating the Risk of Lyme Disease
The primary concern with tick encounters in the upper Midwest is the transmission of Lyme disease, which is carried by the deer tick. According to Liesch, adult deer ticks in Wisconsin currently have a 40% to 45% Lyme positivity rate.
However, finding a tick on your skin does not equal an automatic diagnosis. Liesch emphasizes that timing is everything when evaluating your risk:
“For a deer tick to bite you and transmit Lyme disease, for the most part, they need to be attached for about 36 hours,” he explained. “And the longer they’re attached, the greater the risk of disease transmission.”
Liesch reminds us that performing thorough tick checks immediately after coming inside is the most effective way to prevent infection. If a deer tick is found engorged, it can be saved and sent for testing to determine if it carries the bacteria.
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