If you’ve noticed more ticks this spring — on your pets, in your yard, on yourself after a walk — you’re not imagining it. Experts are calling 2026 one of the most significant tick seasons in recent history, and the conditions that created it were years in the making.
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. Here’s what’s driving the surge, where you’re most at risk, and what to do about it.
Why 2026 Tick Activity Is Exceptionally High
Three converging factors have set the stage for a record tick season.
The Snow Blanket Effect. Heavy snowfall across the Northeast acted as a thermal insulator this past winter, keeping soil temperatures warmer than normal throughout the coldest months. Rather than killing ticks, the snow cover helped them survive in higher numbers than a typical winter allows.
The Acorn Effect. Last year was a “mast year” — a period when oak trees produce an unusually large acorn crop. That surplus fueled a population explosion in white-footed mice, one of the primary hosts for black-legged ticks. More mice means more ticks.
Early Spring Activation. Unseasonably warm temperatures arrived well before spring officially began, prompting ticks to become active earlier than normal across Wisconsin, Connecticut, and the Mid-Atlantic. Warmer falls are extending the season on the back end as well.
The CDC Is Projecting Record Numbers
The data is hard to ignore. The Centers for Disease Control is projecting that diagnosed Lyme disease cases could surpass 500,000 in 2026 — a record high. The National Pest Management Association is forecasting elevated tick activity across the Northeast, South, and Midwest simultaneously. This is no longer a regional issue. It’s a national one.
Where Ticks Are Hiding
Ticks are ambush predators. They don’t chase hosts — they climb to the tips of grass blades or low brush and wait, a behavior called questing. The environments they favor share a few common traits: moisture, shade, and proximity to wildlife.
High risk zones:
● Overgrown lawns and tall grass
● Wooded areas and tree lines along property edges
● Leaf piles or organic debris
● Shaded spots that retain moisture after rain
Ticks don’t require wilderness. A suburban backyard, a park trail, or a landscaped property border can all qualify if conditions are right.
What You Can Do Right Now
Manage your yard.
Ticks love tall grass and dense brush. Stay on top of mowing, clearing leaf piles, and trimming back overgrown vegetation. Where your lawn meets a tree line or naturalized area, consider installing a dry barrier — a 3-foot band of pea gravel or crushed stone. Ticks are moisture-dependent and reluctant to cross dry, exposed surfaces, making this a simple structural deterrent that requires no maintenance after installation.
Protect yourself outdoors.
Wear long sleeves and pants — and seal the gaps. Ticks are small enough to navigate into loose openings, so choose pants with a close ankle fit and wear tall socks. Tuck shirts into waistbands to eliminate entry points. Light-colored clothing won’t repel ticks, but it makes them much easier to spot before they reach skin. Reach for an EPA-registered repellent.
- DEET — the most extensively studied tick repellent, effective across all life stages
- Picaridin — comparable efficacy to DEET with a lighter feel and lower odor
- IR3535 — a synthetic amino acid-based repellent that’s been used in Europe for
decades; gentler on skin and effective against both ticks and mosquitoes - Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) — the plant-derived option with the strongest field study backing among natural alternatives
Whatever you choose, reapply according to label instructions, especially after sweating or swimming, and wear thick clothing avoiding gaps.
Do a tick check every time. After any outdoor activity, check your skin, clothing, and pets thoroughly. Pay close attention to the scalp, behind the ears, under the arms, behind the knees, and around the waist. Catching a tick within the first 36–48 hours significantly reduces the risk of disease transmission.
Don’t forget your pets. Dogs and cats are efficient tick transporters, bringing them indoors from every outdoor excursion. Keep pets on year-round veterinarian-recommended tick prevention and check them after time outside.
Know the Warning Signs
Most people never feel a tick bite. Many don’t develop the bullseye rash associated with Lyme disease — which is precisely why it gets missed.
Early Lyme disease symptoms often resemble the flu: fever, chills, fatigue, headache, stiff neck, and joint pain. If you’ve been in tick habitat and start feeling off, don’t wait. Early-stage Lyme responds well to treatment. Late-stage Lyme — involving neurological symptoms, heart irregularities, chronic joint pain, and cognitive difficulties — is significantly more complex to address.
How Forum Health Approaches Tick-Borne Illness
Forum Health is a leading provider of comprehensive Lyme disease treatment across its U.S. clinic network, with physicians and infectious disease specialists experienced in diagnosing and managing both acute and chronic Lyme — through a functional medicine approach that targets root cause, not symptom suppression.
Standard Lyme testing misses a meaningful percentage of cases. Our providers look beyond a single blood test, evaluating your full symptom picture, exposure history, and immune function — including advanced screening for co-infections like Babesia, Bartonella, and Ehrlichia. Because Lyme is also a notorious mimic of other conditions, accurate diagnosis requires clinical thoroughness.
Treatment is individualized and integrative: conventional antibiotic therapy paired with detoxification, nutritional support, gut restoration, and immune-strengthening protocols. A key component is Q-REstrain, which works by inhibiting Lyme bacterial replication at the source.
Schedule a consultation with a Forum Health provider near you — and head into summer with a plan.
