Experts say to avoid heavy brush areas as Hamilton sees dangerous rise in ticks

Indexed: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]It's that time of year again when a creepy crawly threat could ruin your outdoor adventure. We're talking about ticks. Hamilton Public Health says over 90% of Hamilton has been identified as an area for black-legged ticks that can transmit Lyme disease. Adam Atkinson explains how you can still enjoy nature while keeping yourself and your pets safe.

[00:00:24]I would say over the last 15 years we've had a major increase of ticks in the Hamilton area. I just picked two up myself as a a lunchtime walk in the area. So, uh yeah, we have a huge problem. Um more so spring and fall is the worst time of year. Dr. Stephanie Dam of the Hamilton-Burlington SPCA says she's seen a rise in ticks that can transmit Lyme disease and it's dangerous for your pets as well. Dogs seem to uh deal with the disease a little differently than in humans. Um but one of the things about screening our dogs every spring is if they're positive for Lyme, more likely we have been in the same area, so it's a higher risk for us to be positive for Lyme. Because you walk in the same areas your dog does. What ticks do is called questing. They hang on leaves or grass with their back legs while reaching out with their front legs for an animal or person to pass, and then they grab on.

[00:01:15]If you're out hiking in an uh in a wilderness area and there is a path or a trail, try to stay central to the trail.

[00:01:23]Don't go off the trail into heavy brush areas. Hamilton Public Health says last year out of hundreds of ticks collected during tick dragging surveillance, 10 black-legged ticks were found. Two of them tested positive for the bacteria that can transmit Lyme disease. Hey, if we found it once, the assumption should be it could be here anywhere. And so it's what you'd call a universal precaution. We have identified in the past, so consider that any tick you might find might be infectious. So, take the the necessary steps. Those steps include tucking your pants into your socks and wearing light-colored clothing so you can spot ticks easier. And if you're hiking with a buddy, check each other for ticks afterwards. If they do find a tick on them, they're going to want to remove the tick properly, you know, using either a tick removal tool. There are specialized tools for that, or a pair of tweezers to pull the tick off of your skin directly pulling the tick away from your skin so that the part of the tick doesn't break off inside of your skin so it just cleanly removes it, kind of like removing a sliver. When it comes to ticks, remember the acronym "WAT", which stands for waistline, hairline, armpits, and toes, which is where ticks like to hang out on humans. As for pets, well, they prefer the head and behind the ears.