{"id":315398,"date":"2026-08-06T18:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T18:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/315398\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T18:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T18:44:08","slug":"ticks-in-nyc-are-a-problem-now-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/315398\/","title":{"rendered":"Ticks in NYC are a problem now. Here\u2019s why."},"content":{"rendered":"

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It was an unremarkable night after an unremarkable day in mid-July, and my husband and I were getting ready for bed in our Midtown Manhattan apartment when he let out a blood-curdling shriek. \u201cWhat is that?\u201d he said, holding a corner of the comforter aloft, staring intently at something located where he had been about to lie down. I may or may not have rolled my eyes, expecting to see a spider\u2014something my North London upbringing taught me to care little about\u2014when I froze. There, crawling on eight legs across the white sheets toward us, sporting a single dot on its back, was a deep-red, plump tick. Clearly, it had recently eaten.<\/p>\n

We were stunned. Neither of us had been anywhere as nature-adjacent as even Bryant Park all week. We live on the fourth floor of a walk-up that is typically devoid of insects. We do not have a dog. The previous time either of us had been face-to-face with a tick was years earlier, after a weekend in the wilds of Northern Michigan.<\/p>\n

Google and ChatGPT\u2014and, later, a vet\u2014identified it as a <\/a>lone star tick<\/a>. But what was it doing in New York City, far from the confines of the rural areas to which I had assumed it was limited? And perhaps more importantly, what was it doing in our bed?!<\/p>\n

Ticks aren\u2019t completely new to town in New York City, I learned: They\u2019ve shown up on surveys since at least the 1970s. But studies indicate<\/a> they are on the rise even in the most urban of areas. Climate change<\/a> and environmental disturbance have aided an increasing creep of the territories ticks inhabit\u2014along with the viruses, bacteria, and pathogens they carry.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data<\/a> tracking ER visits for tick bites, which are the highest on record in almost every U.S. region since 2017. Lyme disease<\/a>, anaplasmosis<\/a>, babesiosis<\/a>, Rocky Mountain spotted fever<\/a>, the substance alpha-gal<\/a> (which causes the bizarre but potentially life-threatening onset of allergy to mammal products), and now the extremely rare Bourbon disease<\/a> have all appeared in areas where they were never traditionally on residents\u2019 radars.<\/p>\n

Long Islander Michael Larkin discovered this when he became the first person<\/a> to be diagnosed with Bourbon disease in the New York area. His healthcare providers were stumped by his symptoms: a fever, rash, and intense headaches. He was initially tested for Lyme, and it wasn\u2019t until a monthslong antibody study that the Bourbon virus\u2014so far found in only a handful of cases nationwide\u2014was finally pinpointed as the culprit.<\/p>\n

To date, Lyme disease is still by far the most commonly diagnosed, accounting for more than 80\u00a0percent of tick-related diseases, with 476,000 patients in the U.S. receiving treatment annually. But individual ticks<\/a> are capable of carrying more than one disease simultaneously, and as their territories proliferate, healthcare professionals are warning Americans to pay attention to strange symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cTicks\u2019 portfolio of diseases is quite diverse\u2014if it was an investment strategy, it would be very successful,\u201d says Michael Augenbraun, director of infectious diseases at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. But, joking aside, he emphasizes that some of these diseases can be very serious, causing encephalitis, neurological impairment, and death. Further, they can be hard for primary care doctors, who might not be familiar with every tick-borne affliction, to catch.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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Few vaccines<\/a> are available to combat tick-related illnesses. After a complicated history<\/a>, a Lyme vaccine<\/a> is in the works, recently completing Phase\u00a03 human trials. But currently, the only such vaccine is available to those traveling to certain parts of Europe or Asia where tick-borne encephalitis can be found. Until other kinds of vaccines are developed and disseminated, Augenbraun says, anyone in areas at high risk for ticks should consider keeping prophylactic doses of antibiotics in their medicine cabinet for the occasions they do find themselves bitten.<\/p>\n

But for now, the most viable method to avoid infection is to wear a long-sleeved shirt tucked into belted pants, and socks\u2014even better if the clothing is permethrin-treated<\/a>. Add to that your favorite bug repellent and early detection with full-body checks<\/a> for ticks large and (sometimes very) small, with help from friends and family, along with a trusty pair of tick tweezers if you do find that a tick is living its best life at your expense.<\/p>\n

Augenbraun acknowledges that all this preparation can take away some of the pleasure of being outdoors and that, ultimately, awareness may simply be the best defense we have at our disposal. \u201cPeople probably should be aware of the cardinal signs of some of the tick-borne illnesses, particularly Lyme, which oftentimes starts with a rash, and [affected] people should seek medical attention,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n


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That awareness should also extend to our pets<\/a>. Tick populations rely on deer, dogs, mice, and even birds to survive, and pets are often on the front lines of tick infestations. Dogs, like humans, can experience the joint damage, kidney failure, heart issues, and neurological dysfunction associated with Lyme (there is a vaccine approved for dogs) and should be taken to a vet if exposed. And although cats are decently immune<\/a> to the effects of Lyme, they can be affected by other tick-related diseases<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I still have no idea how, exactly, that tick got into our bed. Maybe we brought it inside and it hitched a ride on one of our cats. Friends and experts alike all express surprise when I share the story of our unwelcome visitor. But our local vet noted that this wasn\u2019t the first they\u2019d heard of this kind of thing\u2014and that we should monitor our cats for any irregular behaviors, such as hiding or lack of appetite. Several weeks later, everyone appears to be fine. But the whole experience has made me wary enough that now, whether I\u2019ve trekked through nature or the concrete jungle, a quick tick check is a part of my nighttime routine. The ticks are here, and I\u2019m taking them seriously.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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