Ticking Bomb: Watch Out For Blood-Sucking Parasites --- Emergency-room visits for bites by summer's most unwelcome guests are up -- here's what to do

“Ticks! They're summer's most unwelcome guests and are lurking everywhere: on golf courses and hiking trails, in backyard gardens and even in city parks.

 

And this year appears to be especially bad: Emergency-department visits for tick bites are the highest since 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tick-bite data tracker.

 

The tick index run by Fordham University's Louis Calder Center is currently at nine out of 10. "If you're thinking of taking a hike, consider going to a movie instead," says the website.

 

Tick numbers are about 30% to 40% higher than last year at this time, says Thomas Daniels, director of the center, a biological field station in Armonk, N.Y., that tracks tick numbers in the tri-state area that includes parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

 

"Right now we're at the time where they're at their peak," he says. "Usually after July 4 we start to see a slight decline."

 

Many parts of the U.S. have been experiencing milder winters and rainy springs. That means prime breeding grounds for ticks, says Thomas Hart, an infectious-disease microbiologist at Johns Hopkins University.

 

"The warmer it is, the more ticks are able to survive through the seasons," he says.

 

Ticks are also expanding into new regions and becoming infected with multiple pathogens, says Dr. Laura Goodman, an infectious-disease researcher at Cornell University.

 

Critter call

 

So who are these pests?

 

Blacklegged ticks, commonly known as deer ticks, are the most common type in the U.S. and can transmit Lyme disease. They were originally found in the Eastern U.S. but have spread to other regions, such as the Midwest. They can transmit other diseases, too, such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis and powassan virus disease. The western blacklegged tick is similar and found mainly on the Pacific Coast.

 

The Lone Star tick is found in the Southeastern, Eastern and South-Central states and can transmit various diseases including alpha-gal syndrome, which causes a meat allergy.

 

The American dog tick can be found throughout the U.S. and can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia.

 

What to do?

 

Rule No. 1 when it comes to finding a tick on yourself is to remove it as soon as possible, says Alison Hinckley, an epidemiologist with the CDC's division of vector-borne diseases.

 

Don't wait for an appointment with your doctor.

 

It takes 24 to 48 hours to transmit Lyme disease, says Daniels. But other tick-borne diseases can be transmitted sooner. So getting it off of you as soon as you see it, is critical.

 

Use a tick key -- it's a small, cheap tool you can buy in lots of places -- or fine-tipped tweezers and grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible. (In a pinch you could use a credit card.) Pull with a steady, even pressure and try not to twist or jerk the tick. You need to remove the whole tick, not just break off part of it. Also, don't try to use a match or solvent.

 

If you find one tick, make sure to do a thorough tick check on the rest of your body. Look behind your knees, under your arms, behind your ears and around your crotch.

 

Ticks fall off after about a week, so it's possible to never know you had one on you. If you know you were bitten, consult a health-care provider to see if and when you need to be tested or treated for tick-borne diseases.

 

Get treatment

 

Blood tests for Lyme disease aren't accurate until three or four weeks after a bite because they are testing for antibodies to the bacteria. So doctors often will decide to treat or not based on symptoms.

 

A common symptom with Lyme disease in particular is a circular, bulls-eye-like rash that develops soon after a bite.

 

There are two limitations with this: Only 70% to 80% of people develop a rash, says Dr. John Aucott, director of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Lyme Disease Research Center. And not everyone develops the telltale bull's eye. Some rashes may be red or purplish and round and still be a sign of Lyme disease.

 

The key is if you or your child have flu-like symptoms in the summer without respiratory symptoms, consider a tick-borne disease as a possibility.

 

Some doctors will treat prophylactically within 72 hours after removal of a tick, with a dose of the antibiotic doxycycline.

 

Many other tick-borne diseases can also be treated with doxycycline. But some, like babesiosis -- a malaria-like infection -- require a different treatment. Ticks can also be co-infected and transmit more than one disease.

 

The CDC doesn't recommend a prophylactic dose of antibiotics for tick-borne diseases. However, if you have had a tick on you for at least a day or two and live in a place where Lyme disease is common, your doctor might opt to give you an antibiotic, says Hinckley. Those diagnosed with Lyme disease typically take antibiotics for 10 to 14 days.

 

Untreated Lyme disease can cause multiple rashes and more serious symptoms that affect the joints, heart or nervous system months later.

 

How to avoid bites

 

Ticks tend to be in wooded or grassy areas. Outdoor activities such as hiking, gardening and golfing can increase exposure. Avoid tall grass and stick to the trail when hiking.

 

And ticks aren't just in the country. They are well-established in urban and suburban parks, too, notes Goodman.

 

When you're back from being outside in grassy or wooded areas do a regular tick check on yourself and your family, as well as pets. If you have been hiking or in tick-infested areas, throw your clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes and take a shower to wash ticks off before they latch.

 

Apply bug repellent with DEET before you go outside and wear light-colored clothing so you can better see ticks. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a website with registered insect repellants. You can also buy permethrin-treated clothing or gear or treat it yourself with 0.5% permethrin, which can last several washings -- but don't apply it directly to your skin like you would bug spray.

 

Also, wear high socks. If you're hiking, you might even want to tuck your pant leg into those high socks for further protection.

 

And if you're a golfer with a high handicap, stick to the driving range. A 1995 study found that golfers with higher handicaps were at higher risk of contracting a tick-borne disease. "If you can get better at golf, then you can decrease your risk," Hart says.” [1]

 

1. Ticking Bomb: Watch Out For Blood-Sucking Parasites --- Emergency-room visits for bites by summer's most unwelcome guests are up -- here's what to do. Reddy, Sumathi.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 07 July 2025: A12.