You Won’t Be Happy To Hear That Massachusetts Is Experiencing A Major Surge Of Ticks This Year

It’s official: tick season has officially hit Massachusetts. Unfortunately, this year is primed to be a particularly risky one for Bay State residents.

In recent years, a surge in the number of tick bites has been reported across Massachusetts. Experts predict that this trend won’t let up in 2019. In fact, at least 90 people in the state have been diagnosed with tick-borne diseases so far this year.

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Besides the obvious yuck factor, ticks are a problem because they transmit dangerous and potentially deadly diseases. In Massachusetts, the most common tick-borne illnesses are lyme disease, babesiosis, and anaplasmosis. It’s also possible to contract tularemia, Rock Mountain spotted fever, Powassan virus, or borrelia moyamatoi, those these are more rare.

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As most Massachusetts residents probably know, ticks like to hang out in grassy and wooded areas and feed on animals like deer. They can’t fly or jump, but typically drop onto unprotected skin from vegetation and feed on their host’s blood. Deer ticks, also called black-legged ticks, are the most common type in Massachusetts and are the ones that spread Lyme disease.

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To guard yourself against ticks, thoroughly check your skin for the critters after every time you venture outside and immediately remove any ticks you find, taking care to pull them off by the head rather than the body. Wear light-colored clothing outside and use a bug repellant with DEET if you’re planning on hiking or camping.

For more information on ticks in Massachusetts and how to protect yourself, click here. If you’re armed with tick repellant and want to get outside, don’t miss this amazing mountain hike this season.