On a recent afternoon, Nick Baldauf was dragging an 11-square-foot piece of white cloth across dry leaves and dirt at Schenley Park. Baldauf, the vector control coordinator for the Allegheny County Health Department, is collecting wild ticks to study as part of a surveillance program with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
“What we’re doing is trying to identify what’s out there, when they’re feeding and what the infection rates of these ticks are,” he said.
As the cloth drags behind him, Baldauf scans it every 10 meters to see if any ticks hooked on. He spent the morning doing the same routine at Pittsburgh’s Highland Park. The ticks he collected are sent off to Harrisburg where the Department of Environmental Protection will identify the arachnids and test them for pathogens like the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.
Though ticks can be active throughout the year, they’re especially busy during warmer months. In Highland Park, Baldauf collected 94 Blacklegged ticks within 100 meters. He said it’s too soon to tell if Allegheny County is seeing more ticks this year compared to previous years.
But at Pennsylvania’s Tick Research Lab — which is based at East Stroudsburg University with study locations all over the state — experts say they are tracking significantly more ticks this spring.
The Tick Lab recorded roughly two and a half times more ticks this May compared to the same time last year.
“It has been a very ticky year,” said Nicole Chinnici, director of the Dr. Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute, home of the Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab. “We have been seeing an influx since March. It has been obnoxiously busy.”
The lab is also receiving more submissions from residents this year, she added. The Tick Lab offers tick testing services to determine whether a tick submitted is carrying a list of pathogens. For Pennsylvania residents, a basic panel that can test for major Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and other more common pathogens is free of charge.
Chinnici noted that an increase in submissions could be the result of more awareness about the Tick Lab’s testing services, she also noted that the heavy amount of rainfall this spring provides a great environment for ticks to thrive.
The Tick Lab is seeing more Blacklegged ticks as well as a rise in an invasive species called the Asian Longhorned tick, which first arrived in Pennsylvania in 2020. This invasive tick species is now the second-most common tick found in the state.
Chinnici said one factor driving the Longhorned’s ascent is that the female population is parthenogenetic, meaning she can lay eggs without mating. One adult female can lay as many as 3,000 eggs. Male Asian Longhorned ticks have never been collected in the U.S., according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
In areas where the Asian Longhorned tick is native, they have been known to carry pathogens harmful to humans and livestock. But in the U.S. research has been so far inconclusive about whether the Longhorned tick can transmit pathogens like those that cause Lyme disease.
Regardless, more ticks overall often means more tick-borne diseases for humans and pets.
Chinnici said for Blacklegged ticks, nymphs are less likely to carry pathogens compared to their adult counterparts. But when they do, she said they can be more dangerous. “[Nymphs] tend to transmit [pathogens to humans] because they’re tiny and we don’t see them very frequently.”
The size of a poppy seed, nymph Blacklegged ticks are easy to miss, and you may not feel them crawling on you.
Blacklegged ticks are commonly associated with Lyme disease, and according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the state is seeing a seasonal uptick in Lyme cases. About 1,260 cases were reported in May and cases are expected to sharply climb in June. Last year, cases doubled between the months of May and June, according to state data.
Lyme disease is highly treatable with antibiotics like doxycycline if caught early. The early hallmark signs of Lyme disease are fever, fatigue, head and joint aches and a rash. Some patients report prolonged symptoms including pain, fatigue or brain fog even after treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A statewide advisory issued in late April by Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen advised medical officials, doctors and hospitals to maintain “heightened clinical suspicion for tick-borne diseases.” Bogen noted a seasonal increase in tick bite-related emergency department visits.
Ticks also spread several other dangerous pathogens including babesiosis, a red blood cell infection; and anaplasmosis, another disease that spreads through the bite of an infected tick. In Pennsylvania, cases of anaplasmosis are on the rise. State health department data show anaplasmosis cases have doubled nearly every year since 2020. Cases have been reported in almost every Pennsylvania county.
Baldauf said Allegheny County is also tracking a “dramatic rise” in anaplasmosis cases.
Early signs of anaplasmosis are primarily flu-like symptoms including fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and muscle aches. Early-stage cases can be treated with antibiotics like doxycycline. But if left untreated, anaplasmosis can become severe, leading to respiratory and organ failure.
Signs of anaplasmosis begin to appear within five days of a bite, though symptoms can take one to two weeks to appear. The earliest symptoms of Lyme disease can appear within a few days, but in some cases it could be a month before symptoms arise.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ticks generally need to be attached to a host for at least 24 hours to be able to transmit bacteria that can cause Lyme disease, which means prompt removal could prevent disease.
Prevent disease by preventing bites
Ticks are often found in wooded areas, parks and gardens, but can also live in residential lawns and shrubs. Chinnici said that makes public awareness about preventing tick bites even more crucial to preventing disease.
“Any time you’re outside — whether you’re in your own backyard, doing yard work, if you’re in high grass, if you’re on the edges of the forest, you will be exposed to ticks,” Chinnici said.
She said after spending time outdoors, people should scan their body for ticks when they get inside and quickly remove any with a pair of tweezers. According to Tick Lab data, 90% of ticks are found on the hairline or behind the ears. Other common areas ticks attach are the back, legs, groin, chest and armpits.
Another way to catch a tick before it attaches is to wear long-sleeved light-colored clothing and to tuck pant legs into socks.
“If the ticks get under your clothing, you can’t see them crawling and they could attach before you know,” Chinnici said.
Showering soon after coming inside can also prevent a tick from attaching itself, Baldauf said. Some ticks can attach within minutes, but others may take an hour or two before they find a spot to feed.
Baldauf suggests treating clothing, shoes and gear with a permethrin tick spray, an insecticide that repels ticks and mosquitoes. The repellent can last up to six weeks depending on how often the treated items are washed. Permethrin should not be sprayed onto the skin directly and can be toxic to small animals including cats.
Pet owners should regularly scan the fur of their dog or cat for ticks after the animal has been outside, paying close attention to the head, neck, ears and toes.
