If you’re worried about Lyme disease and the blacklegged tick that carries the bacteria that cause it, it stands to reason that you should be worried about climate change, too. Shorter, milder winters and hotter, longer summers are, after all, increasing the ticks’ range and season across the northeastern U.S. But the connection between climate change and the threat of ticks isn't that simple. The blacklegged tick, it turns out, is a fragile species. Just as climate change is causing precisely the right conditions to expand the ticks’ population in the Northeast, it’s leading to droughts, heat waves, and wildfires in other regions (namely the South, the plains, and the West) that are killing off the species there. Even in the Northeast, climate might not be the biggest driver of the ticks’ expansion. More important may be the spread of the ticks’ key host—white-tailed deer—which have lost their fear of humans and the built environment and are increasingly wandering out of the woods and into neighborhoods and backyards. If you live where the ticks do, read on to learn how to protect yourself from Lyme disease, what the symptoms are, and how to treat the disease once you’ve got it. |
