When is Tick Season?
By Blake Dinius, Entomologist, Plymouth County Cooperative Extension
This likely does not come as a surprise to our readers: every year, ticks follow a predictable pattern.
Fall into spring of the next year: Adult deer ticks are most active.
Spring into early summer: Nymphal deer ticks are most active.
Summer: American dog ticks( Dermacentor variabilis) and lone star ticks( Amblyomma americanum) are most active.
What you can deduce is that there is at least one type of active tick at any time of year. While the types of ticks may change throughout the year,“ tick season” lasts all year long.
But the transition into the fall and winter seasons represents a shift in what we can expect.
The locations that we encounter ticks will change. As dog ticks and lone star ticks become scarcer, the areas we expect to find ticks become more restricted. Dog ticks are most often found in grassy meadows and open areas. Powerline corridors are a very common place to encounter dog ticks. Lone star ticks can be found in a wide variety of locations, including beaches, fields, and woods. As we move into the fall, we can expect to find fewer ticks in fields and open meadows.
Adult deer ticks are going to be the most common tick we encounter. They inhabit similar locations to the nymphs we see in the spring. These include damp, shady locations and woodland edges, such as the borders between properties. Just a few trees between you and your neighbor’ s house can be a suitable spot for deer ticks to live. Rock walls, leaf piles, and log piles are also common locations to find deer ticks.
There are a few differences between where we find adults and where we find nymphs. Adults are found further out from the edges than the immature stages. They can also be found higher up off the ground. I like to tell people that nymphs and larvae tend to be found“ ankle height and below.” On the other hand, adults can be found“ waist height and below.”
While adult deer ticks are well adapted to the cold New England climate, they aren’ t impervious. If exposed to ~ 10- 14 ° F or lower for a sustained period, they can die. To help keep themselves warm, they will burrow under leaves and snow. This can provide insulation of over 30 ° F between air temperature and temperature underneath leaves and snow. Don’ t go by what the weather forecaster says! Even if the temperature drops below 0 ° F this year, it could still be 30 ° F or higher underneath leaves and snow.
Here are a few tips to keep yourself safe from ticks this year:
Rake leaves early and consider where you pile your leaves. Deer ticks like to inhabit the edges of yards, where homeowners often pile their leaves.
Leaving leaves throughout the winter can provide fantastic benefits to native plants and organisms, but deer ticks are also native organisms that benefit from this practice. Consider that“ leaving the leaves” doesn’ t have to be all or nothing. Strategically choose where you allow leaves to drop and stay throughout the winter. Rake and remove leaves in areas that are frequently used.
Continue applying permethrin to your shoes and clothing. Adjust the application to the height of clothing articles to spray accordingly. While spraying just shoes and socks may be enough during the summer months, I advise spraying your pants during times of year that adult deer ticks are active.
Continue to use EPA-regulated repellents, even in the winter. Applying one of these repellents to your shoes and pants before going out can reduce tick encounters.
Continue to use tick and flea medication on your pets. Indoor / outdoor pets can bring deer ticks into our homes from the outside. While they can’ t survive for long indoors, they might live just long enough to bite us or our pets.
Continue with daily tick checks.( YES, even in the winter!)
If you haven’ t seen adult deer ticks yet, expect to see them soon. If you encounter any tick from now until next spring, you can be fairly confident that it’ s a deer tick. However, we still advise having that tick identified through a service like TickSpotters.
Reprinted from Hort Notes 2025 Vol. 36:7.
MAA NEWS FALL 2025 18