Two bad ticks in PA: black-legged tick and lone star tick (photos from Wikimedia)

7 July 2026

At last the heat has broken and we’re able to enjoy the outdoors again, but don’t get too cocky. Tick bites are way up this year and they are TROUBLE.

For most of the country, weekly emergency visits for tick bites are at the highest rates for this time of year since 2017, according to the CDC.

This means that even on vacation you’ve gotta watch out for ticks.

The bites of two species can make you very sick: black-legged ticks and lone star ticks. This diagram shows their relative size and shape, shown with the familiar dog tick for comparison.

Comparing three species: black-legged, lone star and dog ticks (diagram from CDC via Wikimedia)

Blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis)

Black-legged (or “deer”) ticks are at the top of the danger list. They are exceptionally plentiful and they spread Lyme disease.

Don’t let this tick get on you!

Black-legged tick (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Just about anywhere you’d want to vacation in the Northeast and Great Lakes States is prime territory for black-legged ticks. Planning a beach vacation? Notice that this tick is there too.

Range map of blacklegged tick (from CDC)

Pennsylvania has the highest number of Lyme disease cases in the U.S.

Reported cases of Lyme disease in US, 2023 (map from cdc.gov)

Lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum)

The Lone Star name has nothing to do with Texas. In this case the lone star tick is named for the white dot on the female’s back.

Female lone star tick (photo from Wikimedia)

These ticks are especially plentiful in the Southeast and have begun moving into PA. When they bite they transmit a protein in their saliva that causes an allergic reaction to mammalian foods — meat and dairy products — called alpha gal syndrome.

There are a plague of these ticks on Martha’s Vineyard. So many people have alpha gal syndrome that restaurants and farmer’s markets have changed their product offerings.

Lone star tick surveillance map (from CDC)

What can you do to protect yourself?

It’s Spray Your Clothes Day (photo by Kate St. John)

#1. Don’t let ticks get on you. Word to the Wise: Spray your clothes before you go out.

#2. Field check for ticks. Brush them off before they bite!

#2. If a tick is biting you, use tweezers to remove it. Do not wait to remove a tick. The longer it’s on you the more disease it can give you.

Learn more on The Allegheny Front: Tick bites up in U.S., Pennsylvania, this spring, prompting renewed emphasis on prevention