EXPERT ADVISORY – JUNE 3, 2025 – R0068
As any hiker or dog walker can attest, checking for ticks is routine practice after being outdoors at this time of year.
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.
“Tick research is incredibly difficult because of how cryptic ticks can be,” says Biological Sciences PhD student Nick Benton (MSc ’24). “Being 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.”
Benton and a team of Brock researchers are currently collecting and testing ticks found in six areas across Niagara. They’re targeting the Ixodes scapularis (commonly known as blacklegged ticks or deer ticks), which can potentially transmit Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease.
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.
These ticks transmit pathogens as well as being exceptionally small, making it much harder to find them on one’s body before they become a health risk.
“The 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,” says Benton.
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.
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.
That has now increased exponentially.
“From 2009 to now, you can go out virtually anywhere in Niagara and pick up Ixodes scapularis — that is a major public health concern,” says Hunter, a Professor of Biological Sciences. “We have this deadly tick expanding its range; it started in southern Ontario, but it’s expanding its range northward.”
Evidence points to climate change and warmer temperatures as being one of the main drivers for its population expansion, she says.
“They also feed on large ungulates, such as deer, so as deer populations increase, so do Ixodes scapularis populations,” Hunter adds. “They’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.”
The good news, the team says, is that ticks don’t begin feeding right away — so being alert and aware can prevent serious illness.
“It’s 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,” Benton says.
If the tick can’t easily be brushed off, he recommends removing it with a pair of forceps or tweezers.
“The most important thing is to make sure that you’re not damaging the tick by burning, smothering or destroying it,” Benton says. “Get 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.”
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.
While Lyme disease is the most well-known illness spread from tick bites, researchers in Hunter’s lab also test for other tick-borne pathogens:
- Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Anaplasmosis)
- Babesia microti (Babesiosis)
- Powassan virus (Powassan Virus disease)
- Rickettsia rickettsii (Rocky Mountain spotted fever)
- Borrelia bacteria (Tick-borne relapsing fever)
Although these are much rarer than the pathogen causing Lyme disease, their prevalence in North America is growing, Benton says.
“The diseases caused by these pathogens can cause serious symptoms or even death if left untreated,” he adds. “We test for these extra pathogens so the community is aware of their presence and the risks a tick bite from that area can possess.”
The research is expected to be completed by mid-summer, with plans to share results with the community.
“We want to translate our knowledge and resources into informing the community about potential risks in their environment,” Benton says. “I have a passion for studying insects and for helping people — so I get to combine my passion for studying arthropods with helping people through medical entomology through this work.”
For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
*Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483
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