WCSH-TV6 • January 27, 2023
Deer ticks, which carry Lyme and other diseases, can survive under that snow and can start to bite as early as March. Thanks to $6.2 million in federal funding, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Tick Lab will have more tools to protect and educate the public, and it couldn't come at a better time. Incidence of Lyme Disease was up in 2022 more than a thousand cases compared to 2021. Climate change is allowing tick populations to increase and move farther west and north in Maine. Warming winters means ticks can quest longer and emerge earlier in the spring. $2 million will go to researching very weather patterns, which could help reduce the numbers. $2.5 million is slated for tracking species of ticks that are emerging in Maine, including the Lone Star tick, which is linked to a lifetime allergic condition known as Alpha-gal syndrome. More than $1.6 million will be dedicated to educating 4-H students and school children.