Nearly 40% of Maine Ticks Reported Last Year Carried Lyme Disease

In 2019, the pests were reported in 358 different towns across the state.

It's February, but we're going to talk about ticks. They were a huge problem in Vacationland during 2019. Not surprisingly, they were found in all 16 counties. What's more disturbing is the number of them found with Lyme disease. According to the University of Maine's Tick Surveillance Program's Annual Report, a whopping 39 percent of ticks submitted to the lab in 2019 tested positive for Lyme disease. How large is the sample? A total of 2,697 ticks were submitted to the lab last year.

Furthermore, if you found a tick on your body, and were able to flick it off, consider yourself lucky. According to the report, only 5% were found crawling on the body! The other 95%? Yep, they were attached and feeding.

The report noted that deer ticks were by far the most common, and that they had two peak seasons. They were most active in April and May and then again during late October and early November.