Chicago area experts warn of more ticks around this year
With warmer weather in Chicago this week, it feels like summer is knocking on our door.
But while there are many things to love about the season, nobody is a fan of ticks. Ticks can, in fact, be dangerous, and there are reports that this is shaping up to be an especially bad year for the parasitic arachnids.
Wildlife ecologist Kathryn McCabe of the Lake County Forest Preserve said she has pulled 10 to 20 dog ticks off her clothes every day she has been in the field. She warned that people may start to see a tick uptick.
"They definitely seem to be more prevalent in areas that are traditionally more urban, and you don't come across them as often," McCabe said.
This past weekend, a notification was sent out for Thomas Jefferson Middle School in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates. It warned parents and staff that crews would be spraying for ticks on the school property.
"It is literally right across from a forest preserve district," said Patrick Irwin of the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District.
Irwin said a tick surveillance was conducted at the school.
"We actually take a canvas sheet, one meter by one meter, and we walk down trails, and we drag that canvas sheet behind us — and the ticks will actually attach to it," Irwin said.
Right now, experts say the two ticks to be concerned about are dog and deer ticks. They can carry Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever."
"The deer tick seems to be moving down from Wisconsin at a pretty good pace," Irwin said.
As for what people can do now, Irwin advised wearing clothes that cover skin in wooded areas, doing tick checks, and using insect repellent.
"The same insect repellent that you can use for mosquitoes, DEET, you can just spray that kind of a little bit on your socks and the top of your shoes," Irwin said.
McCabe said the reason we may be seeing more than usual is simple — climate change.
"The warmer winters we've been having with less hard freezes and fewer cold days, fewer ticks will die over the winter," she said.
Experts said while we may see a break from ticks later this summer, they may come back in numbers this fall.
CBS News Chicago also asked about mosquito season. The experts said it is too early to tell, and so far, it is too cool at night for them to be active.