Tick season is starting across the US, and experts are warning the bloodsuckers may be as plentiful as ever. Another mild winter and other favorable factors likely means the 2024 tick population will be equal to last year or larger, some researchers say. Susanna Visser of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said: “It’s very bad and has only been getting worse.
” Tick species threatens to invade Connecticut, putting millions in danger Outbreak of untreatable and potentially deadly Powassan virus across the US An increasing variety of ticks are pushing into new geographical areas, bringing unusual diseases. Exotic southern species like the Gulf Coast tick and the lone star tick are being detected in New York and other northern states, for example. But the tick that experts warn of the most is a common blacklegged tick, which is found mainly in forests and spreads Lyme disease.
Infection rates begin to peak in May, and US health officials estimate nearly half a million Lyme disease infections happen annually. Here’s everything to know about tick season this year and how you can protect yourself. What are ticks? Ticks are small, eight-legged bloodsucking parasites — arachnids, not insects — that feed on animals and sometimes people.
Some ticks are infected with germs that can cause illness, and they spread those germs when they bite. There is no widely accepted estimate of how many ticks there are from one year to the next, but there is a scientific co.