PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 23, 2025
The epicenter of Maine’s tick problem is the Midcoast, according to researchers. In six years of operation, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension tick lab has tested more than 22,000 ticks from every corner of the state. They found ticks from Hancock, Knox, Lincoln and Waldo counties are most likely to carry the pathogens that cause Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis — the three most common tick-borne illnesses in Maine. The Midcoast also has the most reported human cases of those illnesses and related hospitalizations.