Patricia Edwards, MD, fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP)
It’s that time of year again, when our thoughts turn to spring, and ticks!
This year seems to be a bumper crop of ticks in my own yard, and early too. I’ve had patients calling in March about finding ticks on their children and it does seem to come earlier each year.
We all now know to pull off the tick as soon as we find it and hopefully in less than 36 hours of attachment to prevent Lyme disease. If the tick is engorged a dose of Doxycycline will prevent Lyme in most people so call your doctor if you find an engorged tick.
We also know that permethrin is a pesticide that will help keep ticks off you if spray it on your shoes, socks and pant legs as the ticks are on the ground and low-lying vegetation.
But I started to think about why it seems worse and of course, I started thinking about increased temperatures and decreased precipitation which increases the tick population. We can directly connect this with climate change.
Looking back at 2011 statistics, the average temperature in February was 33.4 degrees and the average precipitation (mostly snow) was 3.95 inches. In 2013, the temperature was about the same but the average precipitation had declined to 3.54 inches.
By 2019 (the most recent numbers I could find) the average temp was 34.1 degrees and the precipitation had declined to 2.73 inches. I think we can all remember that the past few years weren’t big snow years for the most part.
It’s well known that ticks like warmer, drier winters and it allows their life cycle to be faster which leads to more nymphs and mature deer ticks earlier in the season. So, while ticks used to be seen in May, they are now showing up as early as March.
We have received tick calls starting in March the last few years. The warmer winters and earlier springs also lead to increased deer populations and the ticks ride from place to place on the white-tailed deer. They also infest the moose which is leading to increased mortality in the moose population.
Then there is the other end of the season also being warmer into fall and thereby allowing us to have ticks with us until November or December. So basically, tick season is now 10 months out of the year!
Many of us remember never even knowing what Lyme disease was when we were young. Looking at the tick maps, New Hampshire was a low tick incidence state in 2001. In 2003, the ticks were heavy along the Massachusetts border and the Seacoast but the rest of the state was spared.
By 2007, half of our state was a high incidence level and by 2019, three-quarters of the state was high incidence with only the very northern tip being spared.
So, climate change is becoming very much a concern in relation to human health in regards to Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses. Another reason to consider our environment and the need to protect it so that we can stay healthier.