Lyme-spreading ticks becoming increasingly common due to mild winters

Thanks to mild winters, black-legged ticks have established deep roots across the province.

And the rise in outdoor activity amid the pandemic could signal a more aggressive tick season in Hamilton, says the city's vector-borne diseases unit, with the Lyme-disease-carrying bug continually being spotted in unusual areas like home gardens and short grass backyards.

Increased sightings of the tiny insects, some of which span the size of a poppyseed, have prompted Public Health Ontario to once again designate Hamilton an estimated risk area" for Lyme disease.

It's not surprising given the gradual hold climate change has taken on Ontario in recent years, said Jane Murrell, supervisor of the city's health hazards and vector-borne diseases program.

We used to get a lot more of them dying off over the winter when we had harsher winters," said Murrell. But over the last 10 years, we're not seeing the winters we used to see. We certainly don't have anywhere near the cold temperatures and snow we used to have."

The more ticks that survive winter in forested areas, the more likely they are to migrate to urban cities, Murrell added.

Even if you have no grass in your backyard, a tick can still be dropped by a bird and still find an area to take up residence," she said. It's impossible to fully control an area to be tick-free because they hitchhike on other species, like deer and rats and birds."

Of the 669 ticks submitted to public health in 2019, 223 were locally acquired black-legged ticks, of which 10 tested positive for Lyme disease. Of the 582 ticks submitted in 2018, 92 were black-legged and nine tested positive for the bacteria.

Data for 2020 has yet to be compiled.

While local reports of ticks have increased, the risk to the public remains low, Murrell said.

Lyme disease is of risk to humans only if a tick is black-legged, carries the disease's bacteria and feeds on a person for at least 24 hours.

Plus, not all black-legged ticks carry Lyme disease and they can easily die in sunny areas. But where you spot them might catch you off guard.

We've surprisingly received lots of inquiries from the GTA for ticks in lawns," said Aaron Soudant, a quality assurance manager with Abell Pest Control.

Abell Pest Control has seen annual tick-related calls jump 1,000 per cent across Canada - but most pointedly in Ontario.

In April, the company received 45 provincial tick calls in Ontario. Over the same time frame last year, just three inquiries came in.

The inquires are coming in all over the board, from the eastern part of the province to the west, the north in cottage country, but even in the GTA," said Soudant. Ticks are coming on to people's property on different animals: deer, mice, birds. They're what move ticks around."

While Hamilton public health has stopped accepting tick submissions due to COVID, eTick, a citizen science project that identifies ticks in Canada, continues to monitor and confirm sightings on behalf of Ontario health units. For more information about how to submit a tick, visit etick.ca.

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com

Tick tips

• Wear light-coloured clothing outdoors to more easily spot ticks.

• Wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt to reduce skin exposure in wooded areas.

• Use a tick repellent that contains DEET or icaridin. Do not use these products on your pets.

• Use tweezers to remove ticks if size permits.

• Shower or bathe within two hours of being outdoors to wash away loose ticks.