{"id":248695,"date":"2026-07-22T07:30:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T11:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=248695"},"modified":"2026-07-22T07:43:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T11:43:39","slug":"i-love-ct-but-its-the-season-of-the-ticks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/07\/i-love-ct-but-its-the-season-of-the-ticks\/","title":{"rendered":"I Love CT, But It\u2019s the Season of the Ticks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year, there was a flurry of reports about CDC data showing increased ER visits for tick bites.<\/a><\/p>\n

In April, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station reported<\/a> that they were seeing more ticks submitted by the community for testing than they usually do at that time of year, likely due to warmer, wetter weather creating ideal conditions for ticks to breed.<\/p>\n

The Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory<\/a> (CVMDL) in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources<\/a> (CAHNR), which offers testing services for ticks sent into the lab, has not seen a similar spike.<\/p>\n

Last year, the lab identified 391 ticks total. Approximately 25% of deer ticks tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi,<\/em> the pathogen that causes Lyme disease. Maureen Sims, CVMDL laboratory technician, says these numbers are currently expected to be about the same this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing we like to point out is that our data is somewhat biased,\u201d Sims says. \u201cWe\u2019re not going out and actively collecting ticks ourselves. It depends on what people submit to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

This matches what Tom Worthley, UConn Extension professor of forest sustainability, says he has been seeing in the field (and woods).<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen a tremendous amount more,\u201d Worthley says. \u201cWhat I have observed is that when I\u2019m in the field with students or I\u2019m in the field with groups or I\u2019m in the field by myself, somebody, not everybody, but somebody always finds a tick on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the samples the CVMDL receives come from Connecticut and elsewhere in New England. Sims says most ticks are ones people find on themselves, with a smaller portion having been attached to dogs, and very rarely, other animals.<\/p>\n

The most common tick the CVMDL identifies is the deer tick, followed by dog ticks. They have also received lone star tick submissions for over 15 years. Lone star ticks are the most common carrier of a sugar molecule called alpha-gal. In some hosts, this can lead to an immune response that causes an allergic reaction to red meat. New evidence has shown that alpha-gal transmission can be associated with other species of ticks too.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach year, the lone star ticks have increased,\u201d says Zeinab Helal, CVMDL research associate. \u201cThere\u2019s been a gradual increase every year for the submission of lone star ticks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CVMDL has also seen an increasing number of Asian longhorned ticks from areas near the New York border.<\/p>\n

CVMDL has identified ticks testing positive for carrying Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia <\/em>and Borrelia lonestari<\/em> infections. Borrelia burgdorferi <\/em>is the most common pathogen by far.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re testing for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, we\u2019re not actually testing for Lyme disease,\u201d Sims says. \u201cLyme disease is a condition that\u2019s caused by infection and is only diagnosed by a healthcare professional.\u201d<\/p>\n