Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is reporting an increase in tick-related visits to the emergency room to start the summer season, which correlates with a trend seen across the Northeast.
Between June and July so far, the hospital saw more tick-related visits to its emergency department week by week this year compared with 2024. Between June 1 and July 5, the hospital saw 261 tick-related emergency department visits this summer, compared with 194 during the same time period in 2024. Last week saw nearly double the patients. Already for this week, up until Tuesday morning, the number of visits is more than the whole week last year.
“We are certainly seeing a higher volume,” Dr. Karen Casper, who directs the hospital’s emergency medical department, told The Times on Tuesday.
Casper noted it is difficult to tell what type of ticks were the causes of the visits — whether dog, lone star, or deer tick. Most of the patients at the emergency department came because of rashes and “bullseyes” formed by tick bites, before any diseases kicked in.
The increase in visits to the hospital also correlates with a dramatic rise of alpha-gal syndrome on the Island, spread through lone star tick bites that produce an allergy to red meat. In 2020, just two people tested positive for alpha-gal, compared with 523 in 2024.
The rest of the state has also seen a spike in hospital visits. According to a Massachusetts Department of Public Health spokesperson, tick-related emergency department visits are higher in 2025 than the past three years, and diseases spread by the common deer tick are of most concern.
The state DPH combines Dukes and Nantucket counties when counting the number of people who were diagnosed with tick-borne illnesses at emergency department visits, and it shows that there was a rise between 2020 (158 diagnoses) and 2023 (304 diagnoses) before a dip in 2024 (245 diagnoses). As of June 16 of this year, the state says there have been 48 “tick-borne disease visits” to emergency departments.
The Vineyard and state numbers are also correlating with a wider trend across the Northeast. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tick bite data tracker shows that May, since 2017, is usually when the most emergency department visits occur. This year, for every 100,000 visits, 283 were tick-related, compared with 134 per 100,000 visits for the national average in May.
There can be various factors that contribute to a rise in tick bites — including mast years, in which oak trees produce an abundance of acorns and make it easier for the arachnids to latch onto small mammalian hosts — and climate change is seen as a contributor to increased tick numbers. The Massachusetts Division of Environmental Toxicology, Hazard Assessment and Prevention states climate change is leading to hotter and longer warm seasons, and fewer nights below freezing.
“These weather changes increase the number of days that ticks are active, and raise the risk of tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease and babesiosis,” the agency states.
Additionally, increased humidity can make for a good tick habitat. According to the Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center, ticks can get dehydrated easily, and prefer “moderate temperatures and high humidity” over “dry or hot conditions.”
Three tick species are known to transmit diseases on the Island: Lone star ticks can spread alpha-gal syndrome, deer ticks commonly spread Lyme disease, and American dog ticks can spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever. A fourth species, the Asian longhorned tick, was spotted for the first time on the Vineyard in 2023.
While local officials are uncertain whether there has been a surge in the Vineyard’s tick population this year compared with other years, there is a fear that tick numbers have risen annually with the introduction of the lone star tick.
Patrick Roden-Reynolds, who leads the Vineyard’s tick program and performs regular surveys, said it’s tough to know if there is an increase this year; he does not start summarizing his surveys until September, and even then it can be hard to pinpoint.
“But I will say I keep finding lone star ticks in new areas, and [they] almost seem to be more common in backyards,” Roden-Reynolds said. “So in a way, I do believe the tick problem has gotten worse and worse since the lone star ticks arrived.” Concerns of lone star ticks making their way to the Vineyard’s population centers were raised in 2017, with local experts fearing an infestation within the following five years.
Lea Hamner, a Dukes County contract epidemiologist, is concerned with the high number of tick bites, considering that the Island hasn’t even entered the lone star larval “tick bomb” season yet.
“These clusters of hundreds of tiny ticks start becoming more common in late July, and extend through the early fall,” Hamner said.
Prevention is key
Local health officials urge Islanders to take preventive measures to avoid bites from ticks. “In the face of potentially life-changing disease or allergy, I’m picking effective protection every time,” Hamner said.
Hamner recommended getting clothing treated with permethrin, an insecticide that can repel and even incapacitate ticks.
Especially for outdoor activities, Casper said people should wear protective clothing to “cover as much skin as possible,” recommending wearing light-colored clothes to spot ticks more easily. She also said that applying insect repellents containing EPA-registered insect active ingredients like permethrin or DEET would be helpful.
Casper also underscored the need to do daily tick checks in the following “high-risk areas” on the body for ticks, and to remove the arachnids immediately if spotted:
- Under the arms
- In and around the ears
- Inside belly button
- Back of the knees
- In and around the hair
- Between the legs
- Around the waist
Casper highlighted that not all tick bites spread diseases. She said that ticks must be “attached for multiple hours before diseases, like the bacterial Lyme disease, can be transmitted,” and symptoms “may begin anywhere from three to 30 days post–tick bite.”
Unless you’re experiencing a “life-threatening emergency,” Casper said, patients should reach out to their primary care provider first — though there is a waitlist of patients for primary care that Vineyard providers are trying to whittle down.
“They should be able to advise you when to come to the emergency department,” she said.
It’s always great to remind people to be weary of ticks but please stop referring to Alpha Gal as an allergy to red meat. For those of us who suffer, and by definition, it is an allergy to all things mammal — not just meats but also dairy and the many, many by-products made from cow parts. I, for one, suffer if I simply smell meat cooking. It is a serious tick disease that does not require the tick to be attached for multiple days to transmit. For those who visit the island, please be careful. And while I agree ticks don’t necessarily require emergency room visits, it is vital to take precautions. Alpha gal (or any tick disease) isn’t fun. But you can live with it if you fully understand it.
Alpa Gal is a SYNDROME, not confirmed as a disease (yet)! My wife also has been diagnosed with Alpha Gal and according to doctors and entomologist it cannot be classified as a disease, as how its actions and cures are not yet identified. Other proteins are non-mammalian – fish, eggs, emu, ostrich and proper vegan rice/bean combinations. A friend of mine was diagnosed with the SYNDROME several years ago but is now able to eat mammalian products without any issues.
An FYI that multiple island stores carry permethrin spray and permethrin treated clothing. Brickmans, SBS, Basics, probably more. I invite folks to reply to my comment highlighting where else sells these products. InsectShield.com has continued to provide Martha’s Vineyard a 15% discount for anyone who wants to use it (MARTHASV2025) and uniquely offer a service where you can send in your own clothes for treatment which lasts 70 washings as opposed to 6 when you spray yourself. MV Boards of Health and public health staff get no financial benefit, just community benefit preventing tick bites. The promo code is valid for both newly purchased clothes or sending in your own clothes for treatment.
when i was surveying land on MV back in the early ’70’s our survey crew would pick, in some locations, 20-30 ticks a day of ourselves, Chappy and Gay Head where the worst, nobody got sick, must have been better times
The island is chock full of tourists, we’re at capacity. More people = more people bitten by ticks = more people showing up at the hospital. It’s no mystery. One could also ask biodiversity works, to find out if their yard tick checks are yielding greater numbers, something the article could edit in.
Many keep saying to spray your property in low winds with a solution of 36 percent concentrate Permethrin and water in a spray jug. Focused on woody areas, mulch, and laws. Those who have done this every 3 months in spring and late summer are pleased with the result.
Tim, please be mindful that pesticides are best applied by a certified professional.
It’s not rocket science. Actually it’s quite easy and effective. I do my own yard once a month.
WHY are we not even mentioning the problem of the increasing deer population in this article as well? I recently visited Staten Island for a birding tour and they have dealt with this problem very effectively by setting up an aggressive program of sterilizing a large portion of the male deer on their island, which has diminished that host population quickly. The park rangers there said it took a lot of coordination with local authorities, but that it can be done. Why can’t we do that here?
Well they spent $6.6 million over a few years and the population is now about 1200. And the costs continue forever…more deer are born each year so it has to continue. The Vineyard is larger, maybe 10000 deer. The costs would be high and continuous.
Wonderful idea! We can learn to protect ourselves, while also respecting the deer’s right to live in peace on the Island that we all share.
Permethrin. Permethrin. Permethrin.
As someone who suffers from the effects of Lyme disease after many years it is the only thing I now use. After years of research and trying every other alternative natural product I cannot stress the importance of permethrin enough. The other “natural” sprays are simply an air freshener that repel them for a few hours at most and need constant and frequent reapplication.
The studies show natural oils offer limited efficacy against repelling tick but permethrin 100% kills them. If you take your health and wellbeing seriously and don’t want Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Powassan virus disease, Bourbon virus, Colorado tick fever, Heartland virus, and Tularemia then USE PERMETHRIN. The good outweighs the bad 10 fold.
The lone star tick situation is an infestation.
Never been so bitten, sprayed up, basically a space suit if I want to lower the risk. Other than Patrick, no one is doing anything for West Tisbury. It’s nothing short if an emergency. My kids are afraid to visit, imagine that!
So much talk about the effects of ticks, nothing about how to rid the Island of these creatures? I have heard Guinea Hens, lizards, and other animals might work? Can’t we fight back?
I keep wondering what will instill some real action from the Vineyard authorities and concerned community to help alleviate the tick menace. This year, after about 70 tick bites, hours of itching, one sleepless night after the other from itching and distress, purchase of a hazmat suit, property sprayed twice already, total inability to even go to our composter or to retrieve our morning paper without taking numerous ticks off our legs, being afraid to walk the wonderful trails of MV, I am ready to give up and go home to our home on the mainland where our summer can be enjoyed. I am unhappy and thinking about actually selling our home here after more than 30 years of ownership because I am simply no longer enjoying being here. Perhaps this final decision will be chosen not just by me, but by many others who also, because of the ticks, will consider this option.