Less snow and more rain over the winter may lead to high populations of disease-bearing ticks this spring and summer, which could lead to another record year for lyme disease, according to experts.

Data from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention show nearly 3,000 cases of preliminary lyme disease reported statewide in 2023. That’s a record high number for Maine, and scientists at MaineHealth’s vector-borne disease lab in Scarborough said 2023 saw a high tick population, too.

Chuck Lubelczyk, a vector ecologist at the lab, said wet weather, like what Maine experienced over the winter and into spring, is a factor.

“Generally, the wetter the season, the greater potential for this kind of stuff that we see,” he said.

Last year, Lubelczyk said, was the first time in three years that Maine did not experience an extended drought, which is good for plants, but bad news for those looking to avoid tick-borne diseases.

This year, Lubelczyk said, heavy rains over the winter are setting the stage for high tick numbers once again.

“If we don’t get a lot of rain between now and the first or second week of June, it’s going to be very dry, and the ticks are not going to be very happy,” he said. “If it stays wet, if we get rain every week, couple of rainstorms a week, they’ll be going into the season in very good shape for an abundant summer.”

Susan Elias, a staff scientist at the lab, also cautioned that the term “tick season” implies that ticks are not active at all in colder months. In reality, she said, ticks are active year-round, but extreme weather makes them more or less active.

There’s also the issue of snow cover. Elias said even in the dead of winter, active ticks can be found outside where there is no or very little snow cover.

“We had a crazy winter,” she said. “We had some ice, we had some snow, but we did have a lot of bare ground. Whenever you have bare ground there is potential for humans to come in contact with ticks.”

That means, Elias said, that ticks could be a problem year-round – they just tend to peak in the early spring and over the summer.

“We just want people to be really aware that you can pick up a tick almost any time of year in Maine,“ she said.

Common advice from MaineHealth to avoid tick bites includes:

• Wear light-colored clothing and be sure to tuck shirts into pants and pant cuffs into socks to keep ticks out;
• Use an effective insect repellent while outside;
• Be sure to check yourself and your children upon coming in from outside.

In addition, Lubelczyk cautioned pet owners check their dogs and cats when bringing them in from outside.

“It’s really important for folks to remember that this is not just a human disease or a human-related disease. Ticks get on and can infect our companion animals.”