Connecticut's above average snowfall this winter was good news for the region's tick populations.
“Snow provides a perfect opportunity for them to stay warmer under the snow and stay safe from the cold,” said Goudarz Molaei, director of the tick surveillance program at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, or CAES.
Even without snow, ticks are a very resilient species.
“Ticks have learned to go through dormancy and protect themselves from extreme cold,” Molaei said. "The only time that ticks may suffer some mortality, minimal mortality, that's when we don't have the snow cover and it is dry and it is cold."
Temperatures need to drop to at least 10 degrees below freezing to pose any risk to ticks.
No matter the time of year, ticks can always pose a risk to humans. Molaei said his lab was sent ticks for testing in February.
Warmer weather means more people will be outside for longer periods of time increasing their chances of tick exposure. Roughly 70-80% of human Lyme disease cases occur in the summer, according to CAES.
The vast majority of Lyme disease infections, about 75%, occurred while the person was in their yard, while the rest occurred away from the home.
State researchers advise anyone who has a tick that needs to be tested should first submit it to their local health department. The health department then sends it to the state laboratory.
