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Black-legged tick spreads Lyme disease. (photo provided by Dr. Graham Hickling)Dr. Graham Hickling The amount of ticks in Michigan and the timing of active ticks are both driven by the weather. This past warm winter is having an impact on ticks in Michigan according to experts. Michigan and the entire Great Lakes region just went through a very mild winter. We are ranking this winter as the second warmest winter overall across the Great Lakes region. During a typically cold Michigan winter ticks are not active and feeding on hosts. Yes that's the less scary way of saying biting and sucking some animal's or human's blood. This winter was so mild that Jean Tsao, Professor in Fisheries and Wildlife and Large Animal Clinical Science at MSU, says the ticks were moving and active this winter. Tsao thinks many of the ticks may already have found a host to bite, suck and latch on to. With this warm start to tick season and already starting in winter, Tsao believes the peak of tick activity may be shifted early. In fact she thinks the peak may have already occurred. Tsao says normally the most activity with ticks is in April and May. This year it looks like the peak may have occurred in March and April. Tsao surmises if we stayed indoors in March we may have missed the rush of tick activity. Tsao reminds us ticks have three stages: larvae, nymph and adult. The ticks we saw early in March up to now are full grown adult ticks. We also have to be concerned with the nymph stage of the various ticks in Michigan. Those nymphs also bite and suck blood and can transmit diseases. Tsao says the nymph numbers usually peak in June. Again she thinks the warm winter and early spring will shift the peak of nymph activity possibly to this month. Tick season could have just a slight lull in activity in August and September before picking back up in fall, according to Tsao. Tsao also reminds us that last spring's weather has an effect on the tick population this year. If you remember last spring into early summer was very dry with parts of Michigan in severe drought. Tsao says ticks probably didn't fare too well in that drought. The drought last year would be our only hope for less ticks this summer. Another good note is Tsao doesn't think just because it was a warm winter there will be more disease-infected ticks. Also she says the tick activity this summer will be related to weather. If it turns dry again there will be less ticks to be found. Tick engorged with blood and attached to skin. (photo provided by Dr. Graham Hickling)Dr. Graham Hickling Tsao has several tips for staying tick-safe. 1) Know where the ticks are hiding. The common dog tick lurks in high grass areas while the lyme-disease-carrying black-legged tick lives in wooded areas. Try to avoid those areas if you are very concerned about ticks. 2) Cover your arms and legs. Tsao says you can treat your clothing with permethrin to kill ticks. We can also find clothing that is permanently treated with permethrin. 3) Use an EPA approved tick repellent. One of the most common is DEET, but there are several others. 4) When you get in the house after visiting a landscape that could have ticks put your clothing in the dryer on a high temperature for 10 minutes. The heat will kill ticks. Washing your clothes won't kill ticks. 5) Make sure to check each other over often after a walk in the woods or on Michigan's trails. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.