While health experts say people should be alert for ticks year-round, ticks are most active in Wisconsin from spring through fall. Avoiding exposure to ticks and tick bites is the recommended strategy for avoiding tick-borne disease.
What are ticks?
Ticks are small, arachnid parasites that live in grassy or wooded areas. They feed on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded animals by attaching themselves to their hosts with a burrowing mouthpart.
Ticks have four life stages: egg, larva, nymph and adult. They possess eight legs in their nymph and adult stages. As nymphs, ticks are as small as a poppy seed. An adult deer tick is about the size of a sesame seed, or 3/32-inch long. An adult wood tick is about 1/8-inch long. Both become plump as they feed.
What types of ticks are found in Wisconsin?
Several species of ticks, including the wood (or American dog) tick, deer (blacklegged) tick and lone star tick are found in Wisconsin.
Data from samples submitted 2024 through early 2026 in the Tick Inventory via Citizen Science project run by the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute in Marshfield, Wisconsin, show 66% were wood ticks, 31% deer ticks and the balance lone star ticks, brown dog ticks or unidentifiable.
What diseases do ticks transmit?
Ticks are vectors for diseases including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Lyme disease is primarily carried by the deer tick in Wisconsin. The disease has increased in frequency and distribution in the state over the past 35 years, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).
Lyme disease is classified as highly endemic in Wisconsin, with a record high 6,469 cases reported in 2024, according to the DHS. An average of 4,600 cases were reported each year from 2019-23.
Cases have quadrupled over the past 20 years, with peak activity occurring from May to November, according to the agency.
How do I prevent tick bites?
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services recommends the following ways to reduce the risk of tick bites:
What should I do if I am bitten by a tick?
Ticks do not transmit disease immediately and often require several hours of attachment before pathogens, such as the bacteria that cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever, are transmitted, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If you find a tick attached, carefully remove it as soon as possible. The CDC recommends using a fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick close to the skin’s surface to avoid squeezing the tick’s body and pulling the tick away with steady, even pressure.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with soap and water, rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer.
Symptoms of tick-borne illnesses often include fever, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches and rashes, including the bull’s-eye rash associated with Lyme disease. Most appear three to 30 days after a tick bite, according to the DHS.
Contact a health provider if you develop a fever or rash after being in wooded or brushy areas, even if you do not remember a tick bite.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about ticks and preventing tick bites
Reporting by Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
