Elevated Tick Activity in Connecticut: What Homeowners Should Know

Connecticut is tick country — and warm, humid conditions like we see in midsummer keep them active and questing for hosts. Ticks don't jump or fly; they wait on vegetation with legs outstretched and latch onto whatever brushes past. The more time your family and pets spend outside, the more those odds compound.

■Where Ticks Actually Hide Around Your Home

Most tick encounters don't happen deep in the woods — they happen at the edges of your own yard. The highest-risk zones on a typical Connecticut property:

• Wooded edges where lawn meets treeline
• Leaf litter and brush piles
• Tall grass and unmowed margins
• Stone walls — classic New England tick and rodent habitat
• Shaded, damp areas under decks, shrubs, and dense groundcover
• Along pet paths and play-set perimeters near vegetation

■The Habit That Matters Most: Check After Every Outing

Whatever else you do, make tick checks routine. After yard work, hikes, or backyard play, check people and pets — especially warm, hidden spots: behind knees, waistbands, hairlines, behind ears, and between pets' toes. Prompt removal matters; the CDC publishes clear guidance on safe tick removal. Connecticut residents can also submit ticks to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, which operates a tick testing program.

■Reduce Exposure on Your Own Property

• Keep grass mowed and edges trimmed
• Clear leaf litter and brush, especially along the yard's perimeter
• Create a 3-foot wood-chip or gravel buffer between lawn and treeline
• Keep play sets and seating away from wooded edges
• Stack firewood neatly and off the ground (it discourages the rodents ticks feed on)
• Talk to your vet about tick prevention for pets

■Where Professional Treatment Fits

Landscaping reduces habitat; treatment reduces the ticks already in it. Professional mosquito and tick applications target the transition zones and shaded harborage areas where ticks concentrate — the same edges listed above — reducing activity in the parts of the yard your family actually uses. On a recurring cycle, that protection is renewed through the entire Connecticut tick season, which runs from early spring well into fall.