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NC’s tick population is surging—and so are the diseases they carry.
We were warned. U.S. doctors cautioned it was going to be a particularly bad year for ticks and the potentially devastating array of diseases they carry, and they were right. Tick populations are surging nationwide, and tick-borne illness rates are the highest they’ve been in a decade.
Unfortunately, a fair share of these blood-sucking buggers call NC home. American dog ticks, black-legged ticks, lone star ticks and more are spotted frequently throughout the state, toting Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis and the newly surging Alpha-gal syndrome, which triggers an allergic reaction to red meat.
So what’s spurring the population boom? Ticks already love NC’s warm, humid weather in the summertime, and as the climate changes and the cold season grows shorter, populations will likely continue to surge.
Mild winters also give ticks the ability to survive in higher latitudes. Read: The American dog tick is now spreading Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Canada, despite the disease being primarily endemic in southeastern and south-central America. Rising deer and mice populations may also be a factor as they play host to ticks.
That said, there’s no reason to avoid the outdoors entirely—just come prepared. Wear long pants and socks, use insect repellent (and not an essential oil-based one), conduct thorough tick checks, and consider treating your clothing with 0.5% permethrin. Keep in mind ticks don’t actually fall out of trees—they stick to low-lying ground vegetation and work their way up once hitching onto their prey.
If you find a tick on you, remove it as soon as possible—the less time a tick spends on you, the less likely it is to transmit diseases. Use tweezers to grab as close to where the head is in your skin as possible, and pull the tick out gently without ripping or pulling.
Disregard any other false methods of getting the tick out, such as drowning it in petroleum jelly, burning it or painting it with nail polish. Not-so-fun fact: When ticks get stressed out, they throw up. If they throw up in you, that goes right into your bloodstream, upping your chance of illness.
There is some good news. It’s not necessary to go to a doctor unless the tick has been on you for a while (read: if the tick’s body is engorged), or if you start exhibiting symptoms like a fever or rash. And always remember to save the tick—just in case.
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