Mid-Michigan health officials warn of increasing tick, mosquito activity

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – Warmer weather is here to stay, and as people start to enjoy the outdoors, the Mid-Michigan District Health Department is reminding people to keep protected against ticks and mosquitoes.

‘Tis the season: Identifying and tracking ticks

In 2020, there were close to a thousand reported cases of Lyme disease in Michigan.

According to Mitchel Thurston, Technical Manager of WeedMan Mosquito Hero, ticks are already coming on strong this season.

“We are noticing some ticks coming on high, some of our service technicians were noticing ticks just jumping on them while they’re on their lawn,” Thurston said. “So we do see them coming pretty full force. Especially this week for sure.”

The weather is playing a big part in the increase of ticks and mosquitoes.

“It’s all due to how wet it’s been. This is probably one of the craziest springs I think we’ve had in the State of Michigan in a long time,” Thurston said. “For instance, not this Monday but the last two Mondays I mean it snowed. The weather has just been up and down and then almost every day it seems like there’s rain and then there’s heavy dew every morning so that’s all playing into the factors in the environment where mosquitoes can really just thrive.”

Dog owners are also concerned about the increase in ticks this year. Nancy Garcia, a dog owner, says she doesn’t ever walk her dog in wooded areas because of her concerns.

“I have heard that there are more this year, more ticks from other dog owners,” Garcia said. “I bring him to the park and we stay on the paths usually.”

Health officials said most tick bites can’t cause illness unless the tick has been attached for 24 hours. To avoid tick and mosquito bites, people should get into the habit of checking themselves, their hair, and under their clothes after they’ve been outdoors.

“I’ve had a couple ticks on me this season already,” said Aaron Thompson. “The last couple of days, I just found one crawling in my pant leg and one on my neck today. So it does look like it’s a pretty good year for mosquitoes and there’s a lot of mosquitoes out today as well.”

If you’re worried about a tick on your family or pet, you can get it identified by Health and Human Services. People can pick up tick kits from a health department, either mail in the tick, or email a photo. More information can be found on the MDHHS website.

Staying healthy during tick season

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