Encounters with ticks are no longer just a problem for someone trudging through the woods – they can happen right in your own backyard.
That is one of the findings from ongoing research studying tick bites from the G. Magnotta Research Lab at the University of Guelph. Launched in 2022, the study is a long-term initiative to capture as much data as possible about Canadians bitten by deer (blacklegged) ticks, which carry and transmit Lyme disease. It is also highlighting misconceptions about risk.
Tick ranges are expanding across Canada, escalating human-tick encounters, says Dr. Melanie Wills, lab director and professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
“You don’t need to be deep in the forest or brush to be bitten by ticks,” Wills says. Many of the study’s participants reported doing routine activities like gardening or yard work when they encountered a tick.