Emergency room visits for tick bites across the Northeast climbed to their highest level for this time of the year in nearly a decade, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tick season is upon us, local health officials say, despite a harsh, snowy winter that many people may have assumed would slow down tick activity.
“I do think that people associate a really cold really snowy winter with a slower tick season, but ticks are really hardy they will find places to hide,” said Julie McCarthy, the town of Needham’s assistant public health director for nursing and behavioral health. “They will find long grass and bushes and burrows to sort of hide in.”
McCarthy said the tick population in the Northeast has gradually increased over the last decade, driven by a combination of growing tick populations, expanded geographic spread, and better awareness.
“It’s jarring, but it’s not surprising that the data has just been slowly creeping up over the last 10 or so years,” she said. “Some of that is just awareness of ticks and tick bites and tick-borne diseases, some of it is improvements in our reporting process, and some of it is an increased desire for testing for things like Lyme disease.”
Hannah Morse/The Patriot Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesHannah Morse/The Patriot Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
A wood tick dangles over the main hiking trail on Peddocks Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands, in Massachusetts on July 17, 2025.
In Jamaica Plain, dog owner Sharon Woo said she had noticed more ticks on her dogs, Ricotta and Rosie, so far this year — and took extra precautions as a result.
“First thing when tick season starts, I’m more worried about my dogs,” Woo said. “They carry ticks, and they would end up on me.”
Woo said she stayed on top of tick prevention and even vaccinated her dogs against Lyme disease, something she had not done in previous years.
“I’ve just been seeing [ticks] on them more and more,” she said. “It’s a visual reminder that, like, [tick season] is really here and we need to be careful.”
Fragrant plants, and even garlic will deter the bugs, for more natural examples. Where you spray is key, too, since the ticks hang on the ends of tall grasses.
Health officials warned that ticks are not limited to wooded trails and can also be found close to home.
“You certainly can get a tick bite in well-manicured backyards,” McCarthy said. “But you’re more likely to get a tick bite or a tick encounter in long grass.”
Experts said prevention remains key, including wearing long clothing, avoiding tall or brushy grass and using insect repellent containing DEET, which many people still associate only with mosquitoes.
“I think people associate insect repellent with things like flies and mosquitoes, but they don’t associate it with tick prevention, and it is an important part of tick prevention,” McCarthy said.
Health officials recommend performing thorough tick checks, especially around joints and hairlines.
“At the very least, take the time to kind of check the elbow crevices and behind your knee, behind your ears, in your ears – ew – and your scalp,” McCarthy said. “Don’t assume it’s a freckle. Give it a second glance.”
Experts also warned that ticks could come indoors on pets or clothing.
“Those ticks can kind of hitch a ride inside on your dog and then your dog might shake it off,” McCarthy said.
Health officials advised putting clothes worn outdoors directly into the washing machine rather than leaving them on bedroom floors or in hampers.
If you find a tick attached to yourself or others, you should remove it promptly with fine-tip tweezers and monitor symptoms such as fever or rash in the following weeks.
Ehrlichiosis is a tick-borne infectious disease that affects white blood cells and can make people very sick if untreated.