Ticks on Long Island: A Growing Concern

If you ask someone from Long Island about ticks, there’s a good chance they’ll say it’s the worst year yet. But, well, they might’ve said that last year too.

Living in a hot spot for ticks, Lyme disease, alpha-gal syndrome, and other illnesses carried by these pests has made locals more alert—and, honestly, a bit uneasy—about the tiny creatures. Determining how bad tick seasons really are isn’t straightforward, experts have pointed out.

People’s anxiety about ticks might stem from more encounters with them, the rise of a new, more aggressive species, or just an uptick in recognized diseases and allergies linked to tick bites.

What Experts Are Reporting

• Many Long Islanders think this could be the worst tick season yet, but experts say it’s hard to make that call.
• The lone star tick’s rise, known for being quite aggressive, could be a significant factor, along with ticks that have survived this winter thanks to a protective snowy cover and some newly reported tick-borne diseases.
• While experts monitor the types of ticks found on Long Island and the pathogens they might carry, they don’t track the total population of ticks each year.

It’s also possible that tick numbers have increased this year. A heavy snowfall this winter likely shielded them from freezing, while the deer population continues to thrive on the island.

Dan Gilrein, an entomologist with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Suffolk County, has heard many residents label this year the worst for ticks. “I don’t dismiss personal experiences; they could very well feel that way,” he mentioned, noting that it usually depends on how much time people spend outside, and where.

When asked if this year is indeed the worst for ticks on Long Island, the chief entomologist for Suffolk County wasn’t ready to agree.

“Tick populations shift year to year,” Scott Campbell, head of the Arthropod-Borne Disease Laboratory for the Suffolk Health Department, told Newsday. “They’re affected by multiple factors, including weather and breeding success.”

Monitoring Tick Activity

Campbell and his team collect ticks at various spots in Suffolk County by dragging a flannel cloth through grass. The ticks hitch a ride and are later analyzed in a lab.

This tick monitoring in Suffolk and Nassau counties mainly focuses on identifying which tick species are present and whether they carry pathogens that could potentially cause illness. They’re not attempting to tally the overall tick numbers on Long Island.

The state Health Department regularly publishes density data for infected black-legged ticks, which are known to spread Lyme disease and other conditions, gathered from multiple locations. Over the past 13 years, data from Long Island has shown significant variation.

Using this density information and prior tick infection rates, the state assigns a “tick risk score,” ranging from 0 to 5, for each region annually. Currently, Long Island holds a score of 3.31, the highest in New York.

However, the agency does admit that tick numbers and infection rates can vary significantly even within small areas. Therefore, the data shouldn’t be used to broadly predict disease risks for larger or smaller regions.

“Understanding changes in tick encounters over time is essential, but it only takes one bite from an infected tick to cause illness,” Health Department spokesperson Marissa Crary commented.

Regardless of the scores, there’s consensus on one point: there’s no shortage of ticks around. “There are a lot of ticks out there,” Russell Burke, a biology professor at Hofstra University, observed. “I can’t say if it’s more than usual, though.”

Burke noted the increased focus on ticks this year, particularly due to reports of rare pathogens like those causing tularemia and Bourbon virus affecting residents of Long Island. Interestingly, instead of dying off during the unusually cold winter, ticks managed to survive, hidden beneath layers of snow.

“As soon as people start hearing about ticks in spring, the bites, new diseases, and emerging tick varieties, they become more vigilant,” he noted. “And heightened awareness means more sightings.”

This Year’s Tick Situation

For wildlife rehabilitators at the Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, this season has been unprecedented in terms of tick activity, according to Janine Bendicksen, the center’s wildlife rehabilitation director.

A few years back, the center encountered anemic goslings with tiny ticks clinging to them, often leading to their deaths. This year, however, the situation feels quite overwhelming, with Bendicksen attributing it to a boom in the deer population. “I’m seeing baby possums brought in with ticks on them. It’s… bananas,” she described.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, people may have spotted dog ticks on Long Island without giving them much thought. However, things changed dramatically when Lyme disease began appearing on Fire Island in the early ‘80s, with local black-legged ticks becoming a noticeable threat.

“Long Island stands out as a place of dramatic changes in tick populations in recent times,” Burke remarked.

The Lone Star Tick Takes Over

A newer issue is the rise of the lone star tick, which now dominates local tick populations. Unlike black-legged ticks, which lie in wait at the edges of woods, lone star ticks actively seek out their hosts for a blood meal.

These ticks are linked to several diseases, including tularemia, Bourbon virus, Heartland virus, and even alpha-gal syndrome, which can trigger a meat allergy. “Lone stars are among the most aggressive ticks we encounter,” Burke pointed out. “They tend to show up in large numbers.”

Thomas Mather, an entomologist and head of the University of Rhode Island’s Center for Vector-Borne Diseases, notices similar trends on his site, Tick Spotters, which provides free tick identification based on user-submitted photos. The submissions come from various locations, including Long Island.

He observed that in 2014, the ratio of black-legged to lone star ticks was one to one, but it has now shifted to six lone star ticks for every black-legged tick. “This year has recorded the highest instances of lone star and American dog ticks, while black-legged ticks are just average,” Mather noted.

Emergency Room Visits

Another way to gauge the impact of ticks is by looking at the number of individuals seeking emergency care for tick bites. Back in April, the CDC reported that the rates of emergency room visits for tick-related bites were the highest since 2017 in nearly all areas except the south-central U.S. By May, the rates declined and were surpassed by several earlier years.

Nonetheless, the nationwide monthly rate for August, 42 per 100,000 visits, stands higher than any previous year since 2017.

Experts suggest that the active lone star tick, known for its tendency to traverse pavements and sandy areas in search of hosts, may be more frequently encountering humans. Furthermore, in recent years, the public’s awareness of alpha-gal syndrome has grown significantly.

“This season is particularly intriguing since we are noting increased infections that are transmitted by the lone star tick, with fewer by the deer tick,” said Dr. Luis A. Marcos, an infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Medicine. “People are more aware of ticks because the lone star tick is particularly aggressive. They’re realizing it can induce a meat allergy.”

Recent findings indicate that the lone star tick can transmit viruses and bacteria and even trigger allergic reactions. But ongoing research will help us understand the full implications of this.

“The tick’s saliva can alter your immune system and potentially trigger allergies,” Marcos explained. “And if it does trigger an allergy, who knows what else could develop in the future?”