Think you live in a place that’s free from disease-carrying ticks? Don’t be so sure. Citizen scientists found ticks capable of transmitting Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses in dozens of places across the United States where the pests had never previously been recorded, a new study reports. All told, disease-carrying ticks were detected in 83 counties where they’d never been found before across 24 states.
The numbers reflect a rise in tick populations across the country, said study author Nate Nieto. He’s an associate professor with Northern Arizona University’s department of biological sciences. “People should be aware of ticks and tick-borne disease, even when they may think there’s not a recorded incidence of a tick in a county,” Nieto said. READ MORE