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Northeast sees worst summer surge in tick bites in years, CDC says

This summer's May and June spikes are the largest for at least five years in the Northeast.

Tick insect warning sign in forest. Adobe

July 9, 2025

3 minutes to read

The Northeast is seeing one of the largest surges in tick bites in at least five years, mirroring a nationwide increase that includes an increase in tick-borne disease, according to data from the CDC.

Last month, the federal agency recorded 229 emergency department visits related to tick bites per 100,000 visits in the Northeast, which includes Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and New England. In June last year, the CDC only recorded 167.

June’s 229 tick bites is a slight decrease from May’s peak of 283 ED visits for tick bites per 100,000 visits. In May of last year, the CDC only reported 209. This year’s summer spikes are the largest in at least five years in the Northeast.

“This year is definitely an outlier for us,” Massachusetts State Epidemiologist Dr. Catherine Brown told The Boston Globe.

So far this year, the CDC’s overall data has documented 125 tick bites per 100,000 emergency department visits, as of July 6, in the Northeast. That’s an already 43 percent increase from 2024, which saw 87 bites per 100,000 visits.

Only the Midwest region comes close to the Northeast’s concentration of tick bites with 83 per 100,000 ED visits, according to the CDC’s data that goes back to 2017. Since 2017, the Northeast consistently recorded the highest number of tick bites nationally.

Tick activity is weather-dependent, according to the state Department of Public Health. However, the two yearly peaks occur between March or April through August and between October and November.

In Massachusetts, most of the tick exposure was concentrated in the Berkshires and on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, according to DPH’s May 2025 report.

Tick-borne diseases on the rise, including one linked to red meat allergy

Tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease and babesiosis, are mostly contracted in June through August, DPH said. In May, less than .7 percent of ED visits were related to ticks, and less than .2 percent of ED visits were related to tick-borne disease, according to the state’s data. Both figures are up from the previous three years.

The blacklegged tick, also called the deer tick, is the most prevalent in New England, according to the University of Rhode Island. They can carry deer tick virus, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Lyme disease.

Hot, dry days kill deer ticks, and after a more wet spring, many survived into May, Thomas Mather, the director of URI’s Center for Vector-Borne Diseases told CBS News.

“We had good conditions in May and June for tick survival, black legged tick survival, and that has caused the number to be higher,” Mather told the news station.

Higher numbers of deer tick nymphs, which can be the size of a poppy seed, are also to blame for the higher rates of tick-borne diseases, Mather told the Globe in a separate interview. He said about 20 percent of them carry Lyme disease.

American dog ticks and lone star ticks, which can cause an allergy to red meat, are also active in New England. The lone star tick, generally found in the South, has recently migrated north, in part due to global warming, the New York Times reported in 2022.

“Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts are right on the edge of the northward expansion of these ticks … Martha’s Vineyard and Narragansett Bay are completely infested with them,” Mather told the Globe.

To prevent tick bites, the CDC recommends treating clothing and gear with .5 percent permethrin, an insecticide. After spending time outside, particularly in tall grass or woods, check your clothing and body for ticks. Showering within two hours of being outside has also shown to reduce the risk of contracting Lyme disease.

If you are bitten by a tick, you should remove it as soon as possible, the CDC says. Use tweezers to grab the tick as close to the skin as possible. Dispose of the tick by putting it in a sealed container, in alcohol, or flushing it down the toilet. Clean the bite thoroughly. If you develop a rash or fever, see a doctor.