Tick Bites Shift Home as 60% of Exposures Hit Residential Properties
Updated
Updated · WTAE Pittsburgh · Jul 4
Tick Bites Shift Home as 60% of Exposures Hit Residential Properties
3 articles · Updated · WTAE Pittsburgh · Jul 4
Summary
More than 60% of tick exposures now happen at home, with researchers warning summer brings the most noticeable rise in bites around residential yards.
Last winter’s deep snowpack helped ticks survive, and a rapid spring snowmelt and warm-up let them emerge earlier across Pennsylvania.
Deer, rabbits, chipmunks and other wildlife can drop ticks into yards, while larger deer populations and more organic forest material are adding to statewide tick density.
Summer is peak season for tiny nymph ticks, which cause most disease transmission; researchers say dry soil could still cut survival of the next generation.
Pennsylvania’s Tick Research Lab offers free tick testing and tracks submissions statewide through a public dashboard.