NY POST – Nearly 31 million Americans are bitten every year by tiny, blood-sucking parasites — and 2025 is no different.
Emergency room visits for tick bites are surging nationwide, with July numbers hitting their highest point since 2017, according to the CDC’s Tick Bite Data Tracker.
Ticks are most active during the warmer months of the year, typically from April to September.
The Northeast is getting hit the hardest, with the Fordham University Tick Index currently placing New York City in its “Red Zone.”
With Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses already on the rise, experts are urging residents to exercise “extreme caution” when spending time outdoors.
To learn more, The Post spoke with Dr. Sindhu Aderson, an immediate care physician at Northwestern Medicine, about how to spot tick bites and, more importantly, prevent them altogether.
Where are ticks hiding? It’s not just the woods
Ticks may look like insects, but they are actually arachnids, closely related to spiders. These tiny parasites vary in color from light to dark brown and are usually no larger than an apple seed.
They live across the United States, and they are not limited to forests or rural areas.
“Ticks can be found in well-maintained suburban lawns, vegetation bordering roads or fields, debris piles, and even in and around homes, especially where pets may bring ticks indoors,” Anderson said.
Aderson noted that aside from camping and hiking in the woods, people often come into contact with ticks while gardening, walking their dogs, golfing or doing outdoor work such as landscaping, farming or forestry.
Where do ticks typically bite?
Ticks like to hide in warm, moist areas on the body.
Aderson said the most common targets are the scalp, around or inside the ears, stomach, groin, armpits and the backs of the knees.
She also pointed out that people often get bitten underneath their socks and along the beltline …
