Tick bites are on the rise across Long Island, doctor warns
Tick bites have spiked across Long Island over the past month, prompting local health officials to urge caution as outdoor activity ramps up.
“Since mid-April, we’ve absolutely seen a spike in the number of patients and children who are being brought to the office after having a tick bite,” said Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and physician at the Stony Brook Regional Tick-Borne Disease Center.
Dr. Handel said the recent uptick is consistent with what’s typical this time of year, but the risk remains high—especially for children. According to the CDC’s Tick Bite Data Tracker, kids ages 5 to 9 have the highest incidence of Lyme disease nationally.
“We’ve seen across the country that the geographic range where tick bites are happening and tick infections are being transmitted is absolutely expanding,” Handel said. “But on Long Island, this is life we’ve been facing for decades.”
The CDC estimates nearly 500,000 people will contract Lyme disease this year from a single tick bite, according to a release from Stony Brook Medicine. Handel added that Suffolk County has also become a hotspot for babesiosis, another tick-borne infection that can be more severe than Lyme and potentially life-threatening for older adults.
Tips for avoiding bites
While people often blame deer for tick spread, the biggest culprit on Long Island is actually the white-footed mouse, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These small rodents are major hosts for blacklegged ticks, which can transmit Lyme disease and other infections.
The ticks often latch on while the mice are nesting, then move on to humans or pets once they’ve matured.
To lower your risk, Handel advises staying away from the edges of nature trails and avoiding tall grass, where ticks may be waiting to latch onto exposed skin.
“We always recommend wearing long sleeves and long pants,” he said. “It’s recommended to tuck your pants into your socks so that the ticks don’t have an opportunity to bite onto your skin.”
Handel also recommends insect repellents like DEET (20% to 30%) for both skin and clothing. For those who spend lots of time in wooded areas, he suggests permethrin, a stronger repellent that kills insects on contact and is safe for the skin.
Other preventative tips include:
- Wearing light-colored clothing to spot ticks more easily
- Doing full-body tick checks after being outdoors
- Checking common hiding spots like the beltline, behind ears, the hairline, and skin folds
- Placing worn clothes in the dryer for 10 minutes on high heat to kill ticks
What to do if you find a tick
If you spot a tick, Handel said the best method is to use tweezers and pull it straight up from the base of the skin.
“Do not use a lit match or smother it in Vaseline or nail polish,” he said. “That actually is not helpful for removing the tick.”
Once removed, place the tick in a sealed plastic bag and bring it to your doctor. Identifying the tick species can help determine what pathogens may have been transmitted.
“There are three major tick species on Long Island and they each transmit different pathogens, different microbes, and so depending on the species you find, that helps us know what infections you’re at risk for,” he said.
A tick typically needs to be attached for at least 36 hours before Lyme disease becomes a concern. In those cases, a medical provider may prescribe a single dose of doxycycline to prevent infection.
“If you are bitten by a tick, don’t panic,” Handel said. “The majority of tick bites do not lead to an infection and we do have very effective antibiotics for preventing or treating these infections.”
Top: A path that leads down to the bay beach at Gardiner County Park in W. Bay Shore. (Michael White)
