Not worried about ticks in winter? You should be, experts say

SCITUATE — It may seem too early to be worried about ticks, but it’s not. Ticks can live year-round in New England.

And with the recent warm up, they’ve become active once again.

It’s a misconception that ticks go away in the winter.

Ticks never fully go away. They sort of hibernate, and with warmer weather this week, many are finding them active once again.

A Scituate mother says she found this tick on her son Wednesday, she thankfully found it before it bit him.

The owner of Mass Mosquito and Tick Control told Boston 25, he normally doesn’t get calls for tick prevention until the spring but people are already calling.

“In most years with normal weather patterns it’s been usually April, mid to late April, sometimes May, but just with this warm up, I’ve actually just gotten calls just in the last few days,” said Garrett Brissette.

Typically, they spray for both mosquitoes and ticks at the same time, but there is no threat for mosquitoes yet.

“Just in the last few years, we are seeing more and more with ticks and specifically with deer ticks unfortunately because they present the most threat of disease,” said Brissette.

The best way to prevent diseases caused by ticks is to check yourself, your children and pets for ticks, something you may not think to do in the winter.

And usually wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants is the norm this time of the year, but with a warm stretch there have been some exceptions.

But it’s another way to keep ticks away.

Bug repellents with DEET also help.