TickEncounter

Thank you Michael, Beth, Maia, LeeAnne and the entire Daily Show team. One of the BEST experiences of my life. Never did I imagine we could get 200 people rolling with laughter talking about ticks!!

Here are 2 true statements about ticks:
- The longer a tick is attached, the easier it is to find;
- The longer a tick is attached, the more likely it is to transmit an infectious dose of germs.
There’s a caveat about the second statement. Some germs, like the Powassan virus are transmitted quickly after tick attachment, while some take longer to cause an infection as they need the nutrients of the blood meal in the tick's gut to increase in number to an infectious level (Lyme bacteria), or to transform into an infectious form (babesia parasite). By 4 days of feeding, if the tick is infected, it most certainly has transmitted an infectious dose. Don’t delay—have the tick tested and contact your PHP!
But the TAKE-AWAY from this post really is: DO A TICK CHECK DAILY!!

Memo from the Bad News/Good News Department: April 2026 ended with the highest number of April tick encounters submitted to since we started the program in 2014. So, start tucking, treating and wearing tight compression clothing when working or playing outside. We have tools to help--refer to our May ticks infographic and our TickFinder tool to see which ticks are likely to be active where you live. https://bit.ly/4te00gy

Here's a fun tick ID fact: ONLY the adult female Lone Star tick has a white spot on its back. The nymph stage doesn't have any white pigment, so no wonder you didn't recognize it. Here's more about this dangerous tick https://bit.ly/see_the_star URI Cooperative Extension Cape Cod Times