Beware: Tick Activity is Absolutely Crazy in Massachusetts This Year

Massachusetts should have a slogan entitled "Ticks on Parade." It's been a rough spring for tick activity so far this year.

Though I haven't had any ticks on me, there was a situation that came close for my daughter (age 6).  She loves going to the park right by our house, which is about a 1-2 minute walk. While she enjoys going on the slide and swings, she really enjoys grabbing sticks off the ground. She gives each stick a name, and she runs around with them in her hands. While I'm happy that she's happy doing this (it's cheap entertainment for her), I have to keep a very close eye on her.

Some woods surround the park, and she likes to pull the sticks from the edge of those woods. However, I have seen ticks crawling on the sticks throughout the woods, and there was one instance where a tick got in her hair, which I quickly was able to remove because again, I was watching like a hawk. Now, when we are at the park, I have to keep her away from the edge of the woods, as I don't want to take any chances.

READ MORE: 264 Massachusetts Towns to be Stocked with Trout This Spring

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by the high tick activity this spring. I read in a Mass Live article that the tick season is off to its worst April start in nearly a decade, particularly in the Northeast. The article noted that emergency department visits for tick bites in the Northeast hit 168 per 100,000 ER visits during the second week of April, the highest level recorded at that point in the calendar year since at least 2017. Apparently, some areas, like Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, are getting hit harder by tick activity than others, but ticks are in Berkshire County, too. The park that I referenced earlier is in Pittsfield.

Remember, if you are going to spend time outside this spring, summer, and fall, follow the tick prevention tips as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and you'll greatly reduce your chances of receiving a tick bite.