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Unseasonable warmth brings ticks out early

Photo courtesy of the CDC
/
Flickr

Public health experts say people should check themselves for ticks in temps over 40 degrees

Tick season doesn’t usually kick off until April in Southwest Michigan. But given the recent high temperatures, people should check themselves for ticks during these would-be-winter months. That’s according to Lucus Pols with Kalamazoo County Environmental Health:

“Anytime really it gets above 40 degrees, these critters seem to like to come out.”

He adds:

“If things continue like this, we could be moving our surveillance for ticks earlier and earlier every year.”

Pols says an earlier and longer tick season may mean more cases of Lyme Disease and other tickborne illnesses.

Michael Symonds reports through the Report for America national service program.

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