2021 expected to be a record-breaking year for ticks

Part I

State and local health officials are warning that there is an uptick this year in populations of potentially disease-carrying ticks.

A combination of several months of snow cover this winter followed by warm temperatures in early spring have contributed to an uptick in these “very adaptable and durable arthropods,” said Thomas Stansfield, Deputy Director of Health for the Torrington Area Health District (which provides health services and information to 20 communities in Litchfield County, including most of the Northwest Corner towns).

“We are most concerned about the blacklegged tick, also known as the deer tick,” Stansfield said. “We associate most of the Lyme and Lyme-like disease to this particular tick.” 

Signs point to record infestation

Jamie Cantoni, Research Assistant with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s (CAES) Department of Entomology, has been working with Station researchers at the Active Tick Surveillance Program (ATSP), which was established in spring 2019. 

She said signs are pointing to a tick season that could surpass the 2017 season, which was the heaviest infestation on record in recent years, based on research at statewide sampling sites including Housatonic Meadows State Park in Sharon and Great Mountain Forest in Norfolk and Falls Village.

 “Already 20% more adult ticks have been collected from Housatonic Meadows in the first round of sampling than in the combined total of the first two rounds sampled in 2020, and 66% more from Great Mountain Forest so far.”

She said there is expected to be a high rate of outdoor recreational activities this summer, in part because of the end of the COVID quarantine; and there is an abundance of “reservoir host rodents, particularly white footed mice.”

As a result, she said, “I suspect more Lyme cases will be reported.” 

The outlook for autumn: concerning

“Ticks are on the move year-round, but springtime and warmer weather herald their lurking presence most noticeably, as folks who were bundled up indoors during winter shed their bulky layers and make their way to the great outdoors,” said Cantoni.

Tick activity, she said, varies from year to year based on a variety of ecological factors that synchronize to make some years better or worse than others. That abundance of reservoir hosts, for example — supported in part by a healthy acorn harvest that feeds the deer and rodents, which supply a bloodmeal for ticks that allows them to lay their eggs.

With the 2021 adult tick season winding down, Cantoni said, “we can anticipate the rise of the nymphs” throughout May and lasting through June. “It is uncertain at this time just how abundant the nymphal count will be for their upcoming season, but if their numbers are also higher, then we can expect higher adult numbers in the fall as these springtime nymph feed, molt and become the adults we see in the fall months.”

May and June are the danger months

The nymphal stage, said Cantoni, is also the most likely stage in which Lyme is transferred, “as the ticks are so much smaller than the adult females and therefore are more difficult to detect. So by the time they are noticed, it is likely too late and the pathogen has been transferred.” 

It takes 24 to 36 hours of tick feeding/attachment for transmission, she explained. “So while adult activity has so far been bad this year, the rise of the nymphs is coming and that will be a big indicator as for just how bad the Lyme cases are and will be.”

‘Do tick checks all year long’

Hiking has become wildly popular during the past year of quarantine, which of course puts more people at risk for picking up a tick, and with it, a case of Lyme disease or another tick-borne disease.

Health officials say prevention is the key to avoiding tick bites. 

Wearing light-colored clothing makes it easier to find ticks on your body. Wearing a repellent containing 20% DEET or lemon eucalyptus oil helps keep the bloodsuckers at bay. 

When returning from an outing, conduct a full-body tick check, and don’t forget to do the same with pets. Some people suggest that a soapy shower and shampoo are excellent ways to keep ticks for embedding in a host.

The Torrington Area Health District (TAHD) offers the following guidance for removing an embedded tick: Using a fine-point tweezer, grasp the tick at the place of attachment, as close to the skin as possible. Pull the tick straight out. Try not to squeeze the body. 

If submitting the tick for testing, place it in a plastic bag or small container. The tick does not need to be alive. 

Then wash your hands and disinfect the tweezer and the bite site using rubbing alcohol.

 TAHD encourages people to call their doctor for advice on treatment, especially if they experience a fever or rash, since about 25% of ticks are infected with Lyme disease. Removing a tick within two or three hours may prevent disease transmission.

“We encourage everyone to do tick checks all year long and to be tick aware — but we also strongly encourage everyone to be in the outdoors for all the health benefits fresh air and exercise offer,” said Stansfield.