As the weather gets warmer, ticks will become more prevalent across Wisconsin, putting both people and their pets at risk.
In 2025, the number of hospitalizations for tick bites in Wisconsin peaked in late May, according to the state Department of Health Services. And in recent weeks, tick-related emergency room visits have risen significantly in Wisconsin.
PJ Liesch, director of the UW-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab, said around 20% of juvenile ticks carry Lyme disease, and 40% of adult ticks can transmit the infection. Ticks are also more commonly being found in residential areas, he said.
“If you go back in time, we would typically think of ticks as something you bump into if you’re a hunter, a hiker, a camper – you’re spending a lot of time out in the deep woods,” Liesch said. “These days, we have found deer ticks in pretty much every county in Wisconsin. They are no longer restricted just to the deep-woods environment.”
A 2009 study of 173 veterinary offices by the United Kingdom’s Royal Entomological Society found that 810 of 3,534 dogs were carrying at least one tick. Only 19% of veterinary offices in the study had no tick cases.
There are plenty of things you can do to keep your dogs, cats and other outdoor pets safe from ticks, Liesch said.
Tick checks are crucial for pet safety
Liesch said it’s vital to never assume that you and your pet don’t have ticks. The pests spread disease during the feeding process and typically need to be attached for 36 to 48 hours to transmit Lyme disease, he said.
That’s why checking your pets for ticks after being outdoors is so important.
Tick repellants in humans and pets
Repellants with 20% or more DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalypts is ideal for humans. But importantly, human repellents and animal repellants aren’t interchangeable. Make sure to find repellent specific to your animal – even sprays for dogs aren’t the right choice for cats. And make sure that repellant is on year-round.
Liesch said people often skip tick treatments in the winter, when it’s cold and people assume ticks aren’t active. But ticks can wake up if the weather warms up, even for just a day or two, and bite animals.
How do I remove a tick?
Tweezers are the perfect tool for removing ticks, Liesch said, but they need to be as close to the skin as possible. Then, a steady pull is all that’s needed to remove the tick. Liesch recommended avoiding twisting the tick during removal.
If you don’t have tweezers nearby, you might be tempted to pull the tick off by hand – but don’t. However, that can cause parts of the tick’s mouth to break off and stick in the skin, possibly leading to an infection.
How do I prevent ticks in my yard?
Liesch said homeowners don’t need to do much if they don’t see ticks in their yard, but if ticks are present, there are a few extra steps you can take.
Ticks dry out when they’re in the sun too long, so they opt for areas with denser vegetation. Removing vegetation and cleaning up wooded areas can keep ticks away. Removing invasive plants like honeysuckle is also key, it can attract small mammals, which can then attract ticks.
If the vegetation must stay, Liesch said people should create outdoor areas away from those densely-vegetated areas. That might mean moving a firepit or outdoor furniture to a more open space.
Wisconsin residents can also put down tick tubes, which are tubes full of soft material that small animals, such as mice, can grab. Those animals take the material, treated with tick repellent, back to a nest, and the animals coat themself with tick repellent, which helps manage the tick population.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tick season has arrived in Wisconsin. How to keep your pets safe
Reporting by Blaise Mesa, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
