The Tick Almanac
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Ticks in Massachusetts

Common species, seasonal activity, exposure scenarios, what to do after a bite, and the state’s tick-identification options. Sourced from the state health department + university extension.

STATE COUNTY RANGE MAP
rendered 2026-05-25
Blacklegged tick activity by Massachusetts county
Blacklegged tick activity by Massachusetts county
MDPH surveillance · 2024-2025 season
Source: MDPH + UMass TickReport + UMass Extension + MDAR + CDC TickNET (placeholder baseline; UMass TickReport has unusually rich per-county species + pathogen prevalence — replace when imported)

Common species in Massachusetts

Massachusetts follows the state health led source pattern. The species below are drawn from the state-authority sources listed in the sidebar Data Row.

III
4-6 mm
Macro photo of an unfed adult american dog tick with a millimeter scale
American dog tick
Dermacentor variabilis
Identify →
IV
4-6 mm
Macro photo of an unfed adult lone star tick with a millimeter scale
Lone star tick
Amblyomma americanum
Identify →
V
3-4 mm
Macro photo of an unfed adult brown dog tick with a millimeter scale
Brown dog tick
Rhipicephalus sanguineus
Identify →
EMERGING WATCH

When ticks are most active

Broad caution April through October. Blacklegged tick nymphs peak May-July; adult blacklegged active spring + fall and on warm winter days. MA has consistently high Lyme + babesiosis incidence — Cape Cod + the Islands (Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard) have historically extreme per-capita rates. Powassan virus cases reported nearly every year.

Status:source caveated editorial

Where you're most likely to encounter ticks

Cape Cod + Nantucket + Martha's Vineyard (historically among the highest U.S. babesiosis + Lyme rates), Berkshires + Mt. Greylock hiking, Middlesex + Worcester County trails, Pioneer Valley, North Shore + South Shore coastal hiking, suburban yards in MetroWest, Quabbin Reservoir, dog walking in any wooded edge.

Disease context

Each disease named below carries an evidence tag per the Data Row policy. Pills indicate the strength of state-specific evidence, not the severity of the disease. Symptoms should always be routed to a clinician; this is orientation, not diagnosis.

  • Lyme diseasestate surveillance confirmed

    MDPH publishes Lyme surveillance; among the highest U.S. per-capita rates

  • Babesiosisstate surveillance confirmed

    Cape + Islands historically the U.S. epicenter for babesiosis; MA leads U.S. per-capita babesiosis incidence

  • Anaplasmosisstate surveillance confirmed
  • Powassan virus diseasestate surveillance confirmed

    MA reports Powassan cases nearly every year

  • Ehrlichiosisstate surveillance confirmed
  • Hard tick relapsing feverstate surveillance confirmed
  • Alpha-gal syndromeregional pattern

    Lone star expansion makes MA a watch zone

  • Rocky Mountain spotted fevernon diagnostic mention only

If you find a tick — what to do

Tick-ID program status:state id program uncertain

Map resolution notes

mixed resolution.MDPH publishes county-level Lyme + tickborne disease data. UMass TickReport supports unique per-pathogen + per-species county data when their results are aggregated. Cape Cod + Islands (Nantucket, Dukes counties) deserve per-county callouts given their historically extreme rates. CDC maps support national comparison.

State sources

Primary species source
Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Bureau of Infectious Disease + Tick-Borne Diseases hub; UMass Amherst Tick-Borne Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (TickReport) — well-known U.S. tick-testing program.
Primary health source
MDPH Tickborne Diseases hub + MDPH reportable disease surveillance; UMass TickReport program research outputs; CDC pages and maps for national guardrails.
Primary extension source
UMass Extension publications on MA tick species and yard/property tick management; UMass TickReport historical research and species-pathogen prevalence data.
Surveillance
MDPH county-level Lyme + tickborne disease surveillance; Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) animal-health + Asian longhorned tick monitoring; UMass TickReport for high-resolution species + pathogen prevalence data; CDC for national comparison.