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Tick bites are on the rise in the US and UK. Here’s how to protect yourself

The Guardian Environment Tuesday 21 July 2026, 16:00 UTC By Adrienne Matei 1 min read
Key Points

Experts share tips to avoid the blood-sucking pests that can transmit Lyme disease and other illnesses on to humansI won’t go into gory detail about the tick I found latched behind my ear approximately 35 hours after a hike in early June. Suffice it to say, the parasite was well fed, and I was horrified. I am far from alone in making such a disgusting discovery.

Experts share tips to avoid the blood-sucking pests that can transmit Lyme disease and other illnesses on to humans

I won’t go into gory detail about the tick I found latched behind my ear approximately 35 hours after a hike in early June. Suffice it to say, the parasite was well fed, and I was horrified.

I am far from alone in making such a disgusting discovery. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), emergency room visits for tick bites have been unusually high in the US this year. Thirty-one million Americans are bitten by ticks annually – and the number has been trending up for over a decade. In the UK, ticks appear to be rising in number and species variety.

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US (LOCATION) UK (LOCATION) Lyme (ORG) fed (ORG) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ORG) CDC (ORG) Americans (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian Environment Read original →

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