Record Tick Season Raises Health Concerns Across the US
This summer has brought an unprecedented surge in tick populations across the United States, with emergency room visits for tick bites reaching their highest levels since 2017 in all regions except the South Central US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reported that weekly rates of ER visits for tick bites rose more than 25% in April 2026 compared to the previous year, prompting urgent warnings from public health officials about the growing threat of tick-borne diseases.
The Scale of the Problem
Every year, an estimated 31 million Americans are bitten by a tick, and approximately 476,000 are treated for Lyme disease—making it the most common tick-borne illness in the country. But this season has been exceptional. The Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab at East Stroudsburg University reported a massive 55% spike in ticks submitted for analysis in 2026 compared to 2025, while the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that Lyme disease cases in Pennsylvania exploded from 2,900 in 2021 to 18,747 last year.
“Tick season is here and these tiny biters can make you seriously sick,” said Alison Hinckley, PhD, an epidemiologist and Lyme disease expert with CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases. “The good news is you have options to help prevent tick bites when you spend time outdoors: You can wear EPA-registered insect repellent and permethrin-treated clothing, do tick checks, and remove attached ticks as quickly as possible.”
The Expanding Threat of Alpha-gal Syndrome
Beyond Lyme disease, public health experts are increasingly concerned about alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat and dairy products triggered by the bite of the lone star tick. In 2023, the CDC estimated that nearly half a million Americans already had the syndrome, though researchers suspect the number is significantly higher.
As The New Yorker reported in a major investigation this summer, the lone star tick—once primarily confined to the Southeast—has expanded its range as far north as Maine and as far west as Oklahoma. Fifty years ago, these ticks rarely crossed the Mason-Dixon Line. Now they are actively pursuing hosts across vast regions of the country.
“They are the bullies of the tick world,” said Holly Gaff, a tick researcher and mathematical ecologist at Old Dominion University. “They will beat you up and take your lunch money.” Gaff also noted that “forest brings wildlife, wildlife brings ticks, and ticks bring disease.”
Alpha-gal syndrome has now infected people in more than 30 countries on six continents. In Virginia alone, more than 14,000 people have tested positive for alpha-gal antibodies since September 2025—more than ten times the cases of Lyme disease recorded between 2010 and 2020 on a per-month basis. The syndrome has become so common on Martha’s Vineyard that some restaurants now offer alpha-gal-safe menu items.
Why Ticks Are Thriving
The surge in tick populations is driven by a convergence of environmental factors. The US now has approximately 36 million deer, up from a few hundred thousand at the turn of the last century. A single deer can feed enough ticks to create half a million new ticks each season, as the Boston Globe reported in its investigation of New England’s tick crisis.
Climate change is also extending the tick season. Warmer winters and longer springs mean ticks are active for more of the year—at about 40 degrees Fahrenheit and above, ticks can hunt for a host. Reforestation of former farmland and suburban sprawl have created ideal “edge habitats” where ticks thrive, while declining hunting participation has allowed deer populations to grow unchecked.
Thomas Mather, known as “The Tick Guy” at the University of Rhode Island, told the Boston Globe that deer “are the reproductive hosts for blacklegged ticks, lone star ticks, and Gulf Coast ticks… and they all come with their own set of germs.”
New Diseases on the Rise
The tick problem extends beyond Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome. From 2004 to 2016, reported cases of tick-borne diseases in the United States doubled, and scientists have discovered seven to eight new tick-borne pathogens since 2004. The Powassan virus—a rare but potentially fatal disease that can be transmitted in under 15 minutes—saw 76 Americans diagnosed in 2025, the highest of any year on record. Between 10-15% of symptomatic cases are fatal.
New research from the CDC, as NBC News reported, has found that ticks carrying disease-causing bacteria are migrating into new areas, including the Southeast where Lyme disease was previously considered rare. The blacklegged, or deer, tick has been found carrying bacteria never before detected in North Carolina.
“The niches that these ticks can find that allow them to flourish is only increasing,” said Mark Soloski, senior adviser of the Lyme Disease Research Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
A Public Health Gap
Despite the growing threat, experts say the public health response has been inadequate. As The Atlantic reported, “The ticks are winning,” according to a CDC scientist in a recent paper. While 90% of vector-borne disease cases in the US come from ticks, most local health agencies focus their vector control efforts on mosquitoes rather than ticks.
“Unfortunately, beyond that, we are not well prepared,” said Maria Diuk-Wasser, a disease ecologist at Columbia University. “There’s not enough investment in solutions.”
On Long Island, tick researcher Ilia Rochlin told The Atlantic that “it is impossible to go hiking in most areas. Just because of ticks.” The fear is changing how Americans live, work, and play outdoors.
What Can Be Done
CDC officials emphasize that prevention remains the best defense. Key measures include wearing EPA-registered insect repellent, using permethrin-treated clothing, performing regular tick checks after outdoor activities, and removing attached ticks as quickly as possible—within 24 hours to help prevent Lyme disease.
Experts are also calling for broader interventions, including deer population management, development of tick vaccines for deer and rodents, and a more coordinated national tick strategy. As Vox noted, “It doesn’t have to be that way”—with proper investment and policy support, the tick problem could be addressed more effectively.
Looking Ahead
As summer transitions to fall, public health officials warn that tick activity will continue as long as temperatures remain above 40 degrees. The CDC urges anyone who develops a rash or fever in the days to weeks after a tick bite, or after being in an area with ticks, to seek medical care promptly.
For communities across the country, the 2026 tick season has served as a stark reminder of the growing health threat posed by these tiny arachnids. As Patrick Roden-Reynolds, the public-health biologist on Martha’s Vineyard, told The New Yorker: “Everyone comes here and is afraid of Jaws. That is not what you should be scared about. It’s the little things.”
Lea Hamner, an epidemiologist on Martha’s Vineyard, offered a more urgent warning during an NPR Fresh Air interview: “This is an existential crisis. If we don’t get this tick population under control, people will leave this island, and they won’t come back.”
With record tick populations expected to persist, public health officials are urging Americans to take prevention seriously—and to push for the systemic investments needed to address a problem that shows no signs of going away.