Ugh: Wyoming’s tick season has already started and it’s likely to be a bumper crop

Another consequence of Wyoming’s abnormally warm winter is a much earlier tick season. Entomologist Mikenna Smith says not only are ticks out and about now, but there will likely be a lot more of them this year. “I’m a bit worried,” she said.

Smith, an entomologist with Teton County Weed and Pest District, usually prepares to collect ticks when their population peaks in May. Now she’s scrambling to get ready earlier. “Ticks don’t keep a calendar,” she said. “We know people are seeing ticks now, so I would want Wyomingites to be aware of ticks earlier than they would normally expect.”

Favorable conditions for ticks are usually daytime temperatures consistently above 50 degrees—conditions that have described most of Wyoming for weeks during the warmest winter on record. Not only are ticks emerging earlier, but the mild winter means less mortality. “When you have a really mild winter, you’re going to have less mortality throughout the winter,” Smith said. “We may see the overall number of ticks that are coming out be higher than we normally would.”

Smith anticipates Wyoming’s tick population to peak in April rather than May. The good news is that an earlier peak might mean an earlier end. “If they all come out and get their blood meals earlier, we’re not going to see them too late into the year,” she said.

To protect against ticks, Smith recommends tucking long pants into socks—”not a cute look,” she admits, but effective. She’s caught thousands of ticks and found dozens on herself but has never been bitten using this method. Pets and livestock need protection too; insecticide collars or drops for pets and permethrin sprays for horses and cattle can help. Anyone who suspects a tick bite should seek medical attention, especially if flu-like symptoms appear within a week or two.