{"id":102669,"date":"2025-07-02T14:10:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T18:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=102669"},"modified":"2025-07-02T17:44:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T21:44:57","slug":"brock-research-aims-to-keep-communities-safe-as-tick-populations-rise-across-ontario","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2025\/07\/brock-research-aims-to-keep-communities-safe-as-tick-populations-rise-across-ontario\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock research aims to keep communities safe as tick populations rise across Ontario"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” equal_height=”yes” parallax=”content-moving” parallax_image=”102672″ css=”.vc_custom_1750428787016{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: -10px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}” el_class=”fullwidth”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1686761691577{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}” offset=”vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0 vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”450px”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Brock research aims to keep communities safe as tick populations rise across Ontario<\/h1>\n

July 2, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1751048734773{margin-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”45px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1751049065848{margin-bottom: -35px !important;}”][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm”][vc_single_image image=”102672″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Brock research aims to keep communities safe as tick populations rise across Ontario<\/h1>\n

July 2, 2025<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″ offset=”vc_col-xs-12″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ offset=”vc_col-xs-12″][vc_column_text]As any hiker or dog walker can attest, checking for ticks is routine practice after being outdoors at this time of year.<\/span><\/p>\n

But with tick populations on the rise across Ontario, Brock University researchers are looking to spread awareness about the dangers of these pesky bloodsuckers by monitoring local tick populations and testing them for pathogens that can spread diseases to humans and pets.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″ offset=”vc_col-xs-12 vc_hidden-xs”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″ offset=”vc_col-xs-12 vc_hidden-xs”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ offset=”vc_col-xs-12″][vc_column_text]\u201cTick research is incredibly difficult because of how cryptic ticks can be,\u201d says Biological Sciences PhD student Nick Benton (MSc \u201924). \u201cBeing able to study the abundance and also identify if these ticks are transmitting certain pathogens is important, not only for modelling the exposure risk for the greater community but also seeing trends into how these tick ranges are expanding and potential disease risks in an area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benton and a team of Brock researchers are currently collecting and testing ticks found in six areas across Niagara. They\u2019re targeting the Ixodes scapularis (commonly known as blacklegged ticks or deer ticks), which can potentially transmit Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″ offset=”vc_col-xs-12″ css=”.vc_custom_1751466123734{margin-top: -35px !important;}”][vc_column_text]From 2009 to now, you can go out virtually anywhere in Niagara and pick up Ixodes scapularis \u2014 that is a major public health concern.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1751051449474{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Watch:
\n<\/span>Researchers tracking spread of ‘deadly tick’ across Ontario<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/lpsAE92c9Ew?si=OKrnojxMc6Jia-96″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Blacklegged ticks have a two-year life cycle that consists of four stages: eggs, larvae, nymphs and adults. Nymphs and adults are currently active, with the team particularly focused on sampling nymphal ticks.<\/p>\n

These ticks transmit pathogens as well as being exceptionally small, making it much harder to find them on one\u2019s body before they become a health risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe adults are the size of sesame seeds, and the nymphs are only the size of poppy seeds, so, imagine trying to find that on your body,\u201d says Benton.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1750873693680{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Watch:
\n<\/span>The life cycle of a blacklegged tick<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/8oJWvxARyJU?si=uYueXMwRkyZdtMUE”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″ offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1750873179840{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”102915″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Tick-Lifecycle-1.png”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Tick life cycle infographic<\/span>
\nClick to view larger<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Life cycle infographic description” tab_id=”description”][vc_column_text]This circular infographic illustrates the two-year life cycle of a tick across the four seasons: spring (green), summer (yellow), fall (red) and winter (blue). Each quadrant highlights a specific stage in the tick\u2019s development and interaction with hosts.<\/p>\n

The cycle begins in the spring, when adult female ticks lay eggs. These eggs hatch in the summer into larvae, which feed on small hosts such as rodents and birds. During this stage, larvae can acquire pathogens, such as the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.<\/p>\n

As the seasons progress, the larvae grow into nymphs, typically by the following spring. Nymphs then feed on larger hosts, including dogs and humans, significantly increasing the risk of pathogen transmission.<\/p>\n

Between spring and fall, nymphs mature into adult ticks, which continue to feed on larger mammals and can transmit diseases to both animals and humans. In the fall, adult female ticks lay a new batch of eggs before dying, completing the cycle. These eggs remain dormant over winter, ready to hatch the following spring and begin the life cycle over again.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_accordion][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″ offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_col-xs-12″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Tick lifecycle infographic<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_single_image image=”102915″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Tick-Lifecycle-1.png”][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Life cycle infographic description” tab_id=”description-mobile”][vc_column_text]This circular infographic illustrates the two-year life cycle of a tick across the four seasons: spring (green), summer (yellow), fall (red) and winter (blue). Each quadrant highlights a specific stage in the tick\u2019s development and interaction with hosts.<\/p>\n

The cycle begins in the spring, when adult female ticks lay eggs. These eggs hatch in the summer into larvae, which feed on small hosts such as rodents and birds. During this stage, larvae can acquire pathogens, such as the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.<\/p>\n

As the seasons progress, the larvae grow into nymphs, typically by the following spring. Nymphs then feed on larger hosts, including dogs and humans, significantly increasing the risk of pathogen transmission.<\/p>\n

Between spring and fall, nymphs mature into adult ticks, which continue to feed on larger mammals and can transmit diseases to both animals and humans. In the fall, adult female ticks lay a new batch of eggs before dying, completing the cycle. These eggs remain dormant over winter, ready to hatch the following spring and begin the life cycle over again.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_accordion][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″ offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Fiona Hunter, a medical and veterinary entomologist at Brock and renowned expert in arthropods such as mosquitoes, says research points to a clear expansion of tick populations across the province.<\/p>\n

A 2009 study completed by former Brock student Kevin Reeh (BSc ’07, BA ’10) indicated a positive presence of blacklegged ticks in only four of 30 Ontario sites evaluated at the time.<\/p>\n

That has now increased exponentially.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom 2009 to now, you can go out virtually anywhere in Niagara and pick up Ixodes scapularis \u2014 that is a major public health concern,\u201d says Hunter, a Professor of Biological Sciences. \u201cWe have this deadly tick expanding its range; it started in southern Ontario, but it’s expanding its range northward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evidence points to climate change and warmer temperatures as being one of the main drivers for its population expansion, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey also feed on large ungulates, such as deer, so as deer populations increase, so do Ixodes scapularis populations,\u201d Hunter adds. \u201cThey’re also linked to mouse populations, because in the smallest life stages, they’ll feed on mice. In a good year, when you have a lot of acorns, you have a lot of mice and thus a lot of deer ticks.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1751466178299{margin-top: -35px !important;}”][vc_column_text]It\u2019s important to take out a tick as soon as possible, because the longer it feeds on you, the more likely it is to transmit pathogens into your bloodstream.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Watch:
\n<\/span>Brock research aims to keep communities safe as tick populations rise across Ontario<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/fEzLNu5NlHA?si=NYqbXd7LVUVysc_z”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]The good news, the team says, is that ticks don\u2019t begin feeding right away \u2014 so being alert and aware can prevent serious illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to take out a tick as soon as possible, because the longer it feeds on you, the more likely it is to transmit pathogens into your bloodstream,\u201d Benton says.<\/p>\n

If the tick can\u2019t easily be brushed off, he recommends removing it with a pair of forceps or tweezers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing is to make sure that you’re not damaging the tick by burning, smothering or destroying it,\u201d Benton says. \u201cGet as close to the tick’s head as possible, and gently and slowly pull it straight out, removing as much of the mouthparts as possible and keeping the tick intact.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Watch:
\n<\/span>How to safely remove a tick<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iuhgurNM1hc”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]The team is also on the lookout for the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), groundhog tick (Ixodes cookei), as well as potential other species that can transmit pathogens to humans and animals.<\/p>\n

While Lyme disease is the most well-known illness spread from tick bites, researchers in Hunter\u2019s lab also test for other tick-borne pathogens:<\/p>\n