Upstate New York Tick Population 'Exploding,' Lyme On Rise

Tick populations and the prevalence of Lyme disease are on the rise as we head into summer 2021.

Every summer we take the good with the bad. Summer brings with it great weather and fun to Upstate New York. But unfortunately, it brings the creepy-crawly return of the tick population. So far this year, tick numbers are experiencing an "explosion" according to a New York Upstate report. Ticks being sent to the New York state testing lab more than tripled in May of 2021 versus May of 2020. To make matter worse, the presence of Lyme in tested ticks has also climbed from just over 22 percent in the first 5 months of 2020 to 37 percent in the same time period this year. More ticks and a higher percentage carrying Lyme is not a good combination.

And oh yeah, there is one more wrinkle. New York Upstate says the white-footed mouse, which is a favorite tick host, took a population hit this year. So fewer mice mean more ticks looking for other hosts like you and me!

Now here is the good news. It seems every couple of years we hear about the tick population blowing up, but the same best practices apply to protect yourself from ticks and Lyme disease. Cover up when you out enjoying the great outdoors and the pop on Brad Paisley's 'Ticks' when you get home and give yourself a good once over to make sure one of these pesky bloodsuckers did not hitch a ride on you! And if a tick does latch on, you can always visit the CDC website for info on how to remove it and more info on Lyme disease.

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