It’s time to get ‘Tick Smart’ about Lyme disease

As winter’s chill dissipates and spring’s rain gives way to summer’s warmth, we shed our layers and venture outdoors to enjoy the weather. Spending time outside is a known mood booster, and the increased physical activity of outdoor recreation is good for overall health and wellness. However, hidden dangers can lurk among the blossoms – ticks come out of hiding in the springtime too.

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and spring is one of the most important times of year to become “tick smart” by learning about the risks ticks pose and how to avoid tick bites. Ticks are tiny and can be hard to notice — even after they bite — because of chemicals in their saliva that make them invisible to our body’s defenses. And while not every tick is infected with a disease-causing pathogen, one unlucky bite can infect a person with one or even multiple disease agents.

Lyme disease

Lyme disease is by far the most common tick-borne disease in the United States, infecting approximately 476,000 people in the U.S. every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The ticks that transmit the bacteria that cause Lyme disease are called blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, and their tiny nymphs (smaller than a sesame seed) come out in force during May. More than 25% of blacklegged ticks can be infected with the Lyme pathogen.

Blacklegged ticks can be hard to find and remove quickly because of their small size. During the warmer season, we tend to wear fewer clothes, making us more susceptible to bites and subsequent infections. It generally takes around 48 hours for a tick to transmit the Lyme disease pathogen, so time is of the essence once one of these bloodsuckers latches on.

For the military community, one weapon in the fight against ticks and Lyme disease is a program known as MilTICK, which stands for the Military Tick Identification/Infection Confirmation Kit program. Service members and their families, as well as retirees, civilians, contractors and others can submit human-biting ticks to the MilTICK program for free and receive an emailed report describing the tick species, how long the tick was attached, and whether or not the tick tested positive for any pathogens.

This program has been in place since 1995 and is run by the Defense Health Agency - Public Health at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Most military clinics have tick kits on site, and individuals or clinics can request tick kits by reaching out to the MilTICK program staff. The kits never expire and are great to have on hand, just in case a tick bite occurs.

The MilTICK program uses the data generated to better understand tick-borne disease risks to the military community. In 2024, over 3,000 ticks were tested, and 167 ticks were found positive for one or more human pathogens. It might come as no surprise that May is the month where the most Lyme disease agent is detected, although MilTICK has found the Lyme agent in human-biting ticks submitted during every month of the year. The peaks correspond to the spring and fall, when the numbers of nymph and adult ticks peak, respectively.

Of course, Lyme disease isn’t the only tick-borne disease out there – not even the only one you need to worry about from a blacklegged tick bite. Blacklegged ticks also transmit a relapsing fever illness, a bacterial disease called anaplasmosis, a parasitic disease similar to malaria called babesiosis, and Powassan virus, which can cause encephalitis and even death. MilTICK tests for all of these, and fortunately, these pathogens are much rarer than the Lyme disease pathogen – for example, only one confirmed positive tick for Powassan virus has been found since MilTICK started testing for it in 2020.

Other tick species become active in the springtime too, especially the human-biting lone star tick and the American dog tick. Lone star ticks make up the bulk of ticks received by MilTICK since they are the most common tick in the southeastern U.S., where many military installations are located. Lone star ticks can transmit a disease called ehrlichiosis and have also been associated with a red meat allergy known as alpha gal syndrome.

Your risk of tick-borne disease depends on where you live and how you spend your time. Lyme disease is endemic to the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and upper midwestern U.S., where the blacklegged tick is abundant. Move further south and you are in lone star tick country, where your risk of ehrlichiosis is much higher than your risk of Lyme disease. To learn more about the risks at your installation, you can visit the CAC-enabled MilTICK data dashboard and see exactly what kinds of ticks are being submitted from the area where you live.

The more time you spend outside in tick habitat, the greater your risk of a tick bite and potentially developing a tick-borne disease. Treating clothes with tick-killing sprays such as permethrin, using bug spray on exposed skin, and covering up with long pants and socks even during warmer months will all help prevent tick bites. If you do get bitten, sending the tick for testing through MilTICK can help provide peace of mind if the tick is negative. If the tick is positive, the MilTICK report can help your doctor diagnose and treat any symptoms that may develop.

Taking walks in the woods, playing sports outside with friends, and stopping to smell the flowers are all wonderful ways to enjoy the outdoors this May. Staying aware and being tick smart can help keep you safe all year.

The Defense Health Agency supports our Nation by improving health and building readiness–making extraordinary experiences ordinary and exceptional outcomes routine.

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