As Americans spend a lot of time outdoors to soak up some sun and enjoy the last days of summer vacation, more and more are being sickened by ticks, tiny creatures that can transmit a number of serious diseases.
As USA Today reports, on July 31 Justin Timberlake shared the news on Instagram that he is one of the estimated 476,000 people that are diagnosed with and treated for Lyme disease each year, an illness often transmitted through tick bites that Timberlake called “relentlessly debilitating.”
“If you’ve experienced this disease or know someone who has — then you’re aware: living with this can be relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically,” he wrote. “When I first got the diagnosis, I was shocked for sure. But, at least I could understand why I would be onstage and in a massive amount of nerve pain or, just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness.” Timberlake cancelled the remaining dates on his current tour due to the diagnosis.
Meanwhile, emergency room visits related to tick bites have spiked in 2025, reaching their highest level in five years, according to the CDC’s Tick Bite Data Tracker. The CDC reported by July 6 that the number of emergency department visits for tick bites had already exceeded nearly 10 years of July records, with 92 visits per 100,000 reported across the nation. Children ages 0 to 9 and people over the age of 70 were the most common of these ER visitors.
What is Lyme disease?
According to the Mayo Clinic, Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia bacteria. The most common cause of Lyme disease is when a person is bitten by a tick carrying the bacteria.
These ticks can be found across most of the United States, but are most common in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and upper Midwest regions of the country, according to the Mayo Clinic. Ticks that carry the disease are found in grassy, brushy or wooded areas.
What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?
Dr. John Aucott, the director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center, said in a 2024 interview with USA Today that in the acute phase, some patients may experience a round red rash (Erythema Migrans or the “Bulls-Eye Rash”) at the site of the tick bite, or signs of infection like fever, chills, malaise and fatigue.
“The rash is the distinguishing characteristic, but the rest of the symptoms don’t distinguish Lyme disease from other infections,” he said.
If you do not receive treatment for Lyme disease, the infection could still be present in your body and develop into Lyme arthritis. “If you have Lyme disease that was never treated, the infection is still present in about half the people who demonstrate the classic form of long-standing Lyme disease, which is Lyme arthritis. That is actually how it was discovered – by an outbreak of arthritis in the shoulder in a town called Lyme, Connecticut,” he said.
Why is This Year’s Tick Season so Bad?
Climate change is one of the main factors impacting tick populations, according to experts at the Binghamton University Tick-borne Disease Center.
“Ticks can now move further north than they could before and establish populations,” Mandy Roome, associate director of the center, has said. “Going back maybe 15 or 20 years ago, there wasn’t much of an issue. Ticks were still around, people still got tick-borne diseases, but it wasn’t quite the problem that it is now. We’re also having really mild winters. Deer ticks are active anytime it’s over 39 degrees, so we have a lot longer active periods for ticks now, unfortunately.”
Roome said land use can also affect the tick population. She said construction activity can create new habitats for animals like mice, which can pass on pathogens to ticks. “The deer, the mice—when their ranges and numbers increase, we absolutely are going to see an expansion of ticks,” Cassandra Pierre, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at the Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine has said. “And longer warmer weather also allows for there to be more exposure to ticks, because people are out more.”
Why are Tick Bites so Dangerous to your Health?
Ticks can carry several diseases capable of infecting humans and animals. People typically get Lyme disease, for example, when they are bitten by a tick carrying borrelia bacteria, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Humans can also contract a variety of other pathogens from ticks, according to the CDC, including:
- Anaplasmosis
- Babesiosis
- Bourbon virus
- Colorado tick fever
- Ehrlichiosis
- Hard tick relapsing fever
- Heartland virus
- Lyme disease
- Powassan virus
- Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Soft tick relapsing fever
- STARI
- Tularemia
- 364D rickettsiosis
How to Prevent getting Tick Bites and Lyme Disease
To prevent tick bites, focus on creating a barrier between yourself and the ticks. This includes wearing protective clothing, treating clothes with permethrin, using EPA-registered insect repellents, and thoroughly checking for ticks on your body, clothing, and pets once you’ve come indoors.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
1. Wear Protective Clothing:
- Cover exposed skin: Wear long sleeves, long pants, and closed-toe shoes.
- Tuck clothing: Tuck your pants into your socks or boots and your shirt into your pants to minimize exposed skin where ticks can crawl.
- Light-colored clothing: This makes it easier to spot ticks on your clothes, according to the Harvard University Lyme Disease Initiative, and the New York State Department of Health.
- Treat clothing with permethrin: Permethrin is an insecticide that kills ticks on contact. Treat your clothing, shoes, and gear with permethrin (do not apply directly to skin), says the University of California – Davis Health and Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
2. Use Insect Repellent:
- Choose the right repellent: Use EPA-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), or para-menthane-diol (PMD).
- Apply correctly: Follow the instructions on the product label. For children, apply repellents to your hands first and then to the child, avoiding their eyes, mouth, and any cuts or irritated skin.
- Always follow product instructions: Do not use products containing OLE or PMD on children under 3 years old. When used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
- Reapply as needed: Reapply according to the product instructions, especially after swimming or sweating. If you are using sunscreen, apply sunscreen first and insect repellent second.
3. Be Mindful of Your Surroundings:
- Avoid tick habitats: Stay on cleared paths and trails, especially in wooded, brushy, or grassy areas.
- Avoid tall grass and leaf litter: Ticks often hide in these areas, according to Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center and the New York State Department of Health.
- Create a tick-safe zone around your home: Keep your lawn well-maintained, create a barrier between your lawn and wooded areas, and eliminate potential mouse habitats.
4. Conduct Thorough Tick Checks:
- After being outdoors: The longer a tick is on your body, the more risk of contracting Lyme Disease. Check yourself, your clothing, and your pets for ticks as soon as possible.
- Pay close attention: Pay close attention to areas like your scalp, behind your ears, underarms, groin, and behind your knees.
- Remove ticks promptly: Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull upward with steady, even pressure.
- Wash and dry clothing: Wash your clothes after being outdoors in hot water and dry them on high heat to kill any ticks that might be present, recommends the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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