Tick season expands across Florida as emergency room visits climb statewide

Floridians spending time outdoors this summer are facing an expanding threat that doesn't care whether you're hiking through wooded trails in Clay County, walking your dog in a St. Johns neighborhood, or pulling weeds in your Duval backyard. Ticks are biting more people and showing up in more places than they have in years, and emergency room visits are climbing to levels not seen since 2017.

According to federal data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emergency departments across the United States recorded 112 tick-related visits per 100,000 people in June 2026, up from 110 per 100,000 during the same period in 2025. Nationwide, the latest available data show an estimated 65 tick bite-related emergency department visits per 100,000 people this year, compared to 47 per 100,000 last year. If current preliminary figures hold, 2026 will mark the highest tick-bite ER visit rate since 2017.

What's happening with tick populations

Health officials say the trend reflects a combination of expanding tick populations, changing environmental conditions, and increased human exposure during warmer months. The CDC reported in April that emergency department visits for tick bites were higher than expected across much of the United States and at their highest levels for that point in the year since 2017.

The lone star tick, once found primarily in the Southeast including Florida, has steadily expanded its range and is known for its aggressive host-seeking behavior—often actively crawling toward people and animals. An adult female is distinguished by a white dot or "lone star" on her back. This species is a particular concern because it has been linked to alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy that can cause people to develop severe reactions after eating beef, pork, and other mammalian products.

Beyond the lone star tick, researchers continue to monitor ticks that carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplasmosis, Lyme disease, and other illnesses. The concern for Florida residents extends well beyond any single disease, as multiple tick species capable of transmitting various pathogens are active across the region.

Impact on Northeast Florida residents and outdoor activities

The rising tick populations and extended season have direct implications for how Northeast Florida residents use outdoor spaces. The region's extensive network of nature preserves, state parks, and residential areas with wooded backyards creates numerous opportunities for people and ticks to cross paths. Popular outdoor destinations in Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, and Flagler counties—including the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Guana Tolomato Matanzas Research Reserve, and countless neighborhood parks and trails—all harbor tick habitat.

The threat isn't limited to wilderness areas. Ticks are commonly found in grassy and wooded habitats that include suburban yards, especially those bordering natural areas or hosting white-tailed deer populations. For families with children and pets who spend time outdoors, the extended tick season means year-round vigilance is becoming necessary rather than seasonal caution. What was once primarily a spring and early summer concern is increasingly a threat that persists into fall and even mild winter periods.

The potential health consequences extend beyond the immediate discomfort of a bite. Lyme disease, if not caught and treated early, can cause long-term joint pain, neurological problems, and fatigue. Alpha-gal syndrome can permanently alter someone's diet and quality of life, forcing them to avoid most mammalian meat products. Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be fatal if not treated promptly with antibiotics. These aren't abstract risks—they're outcomes that have affected Florida residents and could affect anyone who spends time outdoors in the region.

Healthcare and public health response challenges

The increase in emergency room visits for tick bites places additional strain on healthcare facilities across Northeast Florida, particularly during summer months when ERs already see higher volumes. Each tick-bite visit requires clinical assessment to determine whether the tick was attached long enough to transmit disease, what species it was, and whether prophylactic antibiotics are warranted—decisions that require expertise and often laboratory testing.

Tick surveillance by state health officials varies widely across the country, and Florida's approach affects how quickly public health agencies can detect emerging threats. Some states maintain active surveillance programs that collect and test ticks to identify where disease-carrying species are becoming established. Other states rely more heavily on human disease reports or passive tick submissions, making it harder to detect changes before infections begin to rise. These differences can leave public health officials with an incomplete picture of how quickly tick populations are changing and where people may face the greatest risk.

Several states, including Massachusetts, Missouri, and Oklahoma, have expanded surveillance efforts in recent years or launched public education campaigns as tick habitats shift. All three joined the list of states that now or will soon mandate reporting of alpha-gal syndrome. Florida health officials face similar questions about whether enhanced surveillance and reporting requirements are needed to track the state's changing tick landscape and protect residents more effectively.

Environmental and climate factors driving the expansion

Some experts say warmer winters in many parts of the country, including Florida, have allowed ticks to remain active for longer periods each year while expanding into regions where they were once uncommon. Florida's subtropical climate already provided year-round conditions for many tick species, but the trend toward milder winters and longer warm seasons has eliminated some of the seasonal die-off that previously kept populations in check.

At the same time, growing white-tailed deer populations and changing land use have created more opportunities for people and ticks to cross paths. Northeast Florida's ongoing development pattern—converting agricultural and forested land into residential subdivisions, often with preserved natural buffers and greenways—creates edge habitat that brings people, deer, and ticks into close proximity. The deer serve as primary hosts for adult ticks, and as residential development extends into previously rural areas of Clay, St. Johns, and Nassau counties, homeowners increasingly find themselves living at the interface between suburban comfort and tick habitat.

The environmental factors also affect tick survival and reproduction rates. Adequate moisture and moderate temperatures during spring and summer support larger tick populations. Florida's pattern of afternoon thunderstorms and high humidity during summer months creates ideal conditions for tick activity in shaded, vegetated areas—precisely the environments where people seek relief from the heat.

What residents can do to protect themselves

Public health officials say the best defense remains preventing bites altogether. They recommend using insect repellents registered by the Environmental Protection Agency, which include products containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Wearing permethrin-treated clothing, including long sleeves and pants in wooded or grassy areas, provides an additional barrier—permethrin is an insecticide that kills ticks on contact and can be applied to clothing and gear.

After spending time outdoors, residents should check themselves, their children, and their pets thoroughly for ticks. Ticks often crawl to warm, moist areas of the body before attaching, so careful inspection of the hairline, behind ears, underarms, and other hidden areas is important. Removing attached ticks as soon as they're found significantly reduces the risk of disease transmission, as many tick-borne pathogens require the tick to be attached for 24 to 48 hours before transmission occurs.

The proper tick removal technique involves using fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible and pulling upward with steady, even pressure. Avoid twisting or jerking, which can cause mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. After removal, clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water. If a rash develops, fever occurs, or other symptoms appear in the days or weeks following a tick bite, residents should seek medical attention promptly.

What happens next for Florida's tick challenge

For Florida and other states, the challenge is becoming less about responding to tick season and more about adapting to a future in which, in many places, the season is lasting longer and the tiny hitchhikers are turning up in places they never did before. Whether Florida will join states like Massachusetts, Missouri, and Oklahoma in expanding tick surveillance programs or mandating reporting of conditions like alpha-gal syndrome remains to be seen.

Public health officials will continue monitoring CDC data on emergency room visits and disease reports to track whether the current trend continues or worsens. The preliminary 2026 figures are subject to change as more complete data becomes available, but the pattern of increasing tick encounters is clear. Residents across Northeast Florida should expect that tick-bite prevention will need to become a year-round habit rather than a seasonal precaution, particularly as development continues to bring more people into contact with tick habitat.

The expanding tick threat is part of the broader environmental and public health changes reshaping Northeast Florida as the region grows. Just as residents have adapted to hurricane season preparedness and flood-zone awareness, tick-bite prevention is becoming another element of living in a region where the boundary between developed and natural areas is increasingly blurred—and where the creatures that thrive in that interface are making their presence felt in emergency rooms and doctors' offices across the area.