Researchers are studying the link between climate change, the increase in tick population and the rise of Lyme disease cases.
Brian Leydet, Professor of Disease Ecology and Epidemiology at SUNY-ESF, said that in the Northeast there's been an expansion of the Blacklegged tick, the tick that causes Lyme disease, due to changes in environmental conditions.
"Whether it's the humidity, the temperature, the photoperiod, there's been more areas that are susceptible to infestations or establishment of this tick population," Leydet said.
Leydet said these shifts in the environment and the warmer winters lead to increased adult tick activity and biting rates, leading to a rise in Lyme disease cases.
"The more cold and warm events in the extremes we have, the more likely those ticks are spending that energy, that finite energy store they have," Leydet said. "And what we know about the Blacklegged tick is that when it gets hungry it gets hangry, and it gets more aggressive, and it wants to bite more people and more things."
Leydet advises doing a tick check every time you are outside, even if it's in your own backyard, as finding a tick early and removing it can help reduce your risk of disease.
You can also send your ticks to the SUNY Upstate Tick Testing Laboratory to test whether they carry diseases. The program is no longer free and will cost $37 for people in Onondaga County and $75 for other New York state residents.
