Take a stand against ticks and Lyme Disease

WASHINGTON – This spring and summer could bring a lot more cases of Lyme disease, a disease ecologist says.

A milder than usual winter means tick season started earlier than usual this year — and it will run through September.

Since the the parasitic bugs had longer to breed, you’ll encounter more of them as you’re outside.

With tick season comes greater concerns about Lyme Disease, a tick-borne illness.

Richard Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y., says the Northeast should prepare for a boom in Lyme disease cases from now through July.

Ticks will need hosts on which to feed because the mouse population is crashing.

“This spring, there will be a lot of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected black-legged ticks in our forests looking for a blood meal. And instead of finding a white-footed mouse, they are going to find other mammals — like us,” Ostfeld says.

WTOP Garden Editor Mike McGrath offers tips on how to keep you and your yard tick-free.

WTOP’s Veronica Robinson contributed to this report. Follow Veronica and WTOP on Twitter.

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