A version of this story was edited for our paper and can be read here.
A new nonprofit initiative to combat the documented spike in tick-borne illnesses on the Vineyard went live today, with experts on the rising public health crisis running the operation. The main goal is to target the deer population, a frequent carrier of ticks.
Tick Free MV is an Island-wide effort to take aligned action to reduce the number of ticks on the Vineyard. The nonprofit was officially launched on Thursday and includes some of the leading experts on tick research on the Island and the country.
“This really feels like an existential threat. If we don’t deal with this, people won’t want to live here,” Jeff Levy, the co-chair of Tick Free MV and CEO of Martha’s Vineyard Medical, said in an interview with The Times.
Levy is joined by Megan Chernin as the other co-chair of the nonprofit as well as Patrick Roden-Reynolds, biologist for the MV Tick Program and newly named advisor for Tick Free MV. The organization named Virginia Barbatti, the current developmental director at Island Grown Initiative, as the executive director.
“We have a public health crisis on the Island, but it is solvable if we work together,” Barbatti stated in a press release on Thursday about the launch of the program. She added that “too many” individuals and families are afflicted with a tick-borne illness and action is needed to reduce risk for locals.
The group is especially concerned about the rise in alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to meat and dairy that is transmitted by a lone star tick bite. Data from the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital showed that in 2020, out of nine tests, two Islanders contracted the condition, but in 2024, that number rose to 523 positives out of 1,254 tests. Hospital officials also recently shared year-to-date tests for alpha-gal, and as of last week, there were 1,632 tests, 724 of which were positive for a 44 percent positivity rate so far this year.
“I feel like the tipping point is alpha-gal,” Levy said and pointed to the recent news that the death of a man in New Jersey became the first well-documented fatality in the U.S. of an alpha-gal-related allergic reaction from food exposure. He added that the Vineyard has one of the highest rates of tick-borne illness in the state.
One aspect of their program is a partnership with Island Grown Initiative and MV Hunt Club, in which the nonprofit gives $100 for every buck and $150 for every doe to hunters who donate to the Share the Harvest Program, a state initiative that allows deer to be processed and given to residents facing food insecurity.
Levy referenced the fact that shotgun season is reportedly off to a slow start this year.
“The numbers are so down in hunting. And it’s not because there’s not as many deer, it’s because there’s not as many hunters,” he said. “In this hunting season, we’re doing everything we can to enable local hunters to take as many deer as they can.”
The group is also planning to bring state-of-the-art, thermal drone specialists to the Island to scan every inch of the land and determine the areas of high traffic for deer. Levy said there’s not enough data on the number of deer on the Vineyard, and in turn, less information about the prevalence of ticks.
Levy said he was inspired to help create this nonprofit by the action of Michael Loberg, the founder and former owner of Martha’s Vineyard Medical who worked to combat tick-borne illness and educate the Island about the risks in his tenure as a medical professional.
“We can’t be in the woods, we can’t roll in the grass, and it’s like how do we get that back? How do we allow people to live here — the way they want to live here?” Levy questioned.
My thoughts on the deer issue were strongly shaped by Chris Murphy’s excellent letter to the editor on September 12, 2025(“Stop Managing Deer and Take Action). The notion of preserving a bloated population of an introduced sports species that’s a vector for tick-borne diseases seems ludicrous in light of the current state of affairs.
100%!!!
I spend November in the woods on Martha’s Vineyard hunting deer. Most of my stands have been in the same trees for 30 or 40 years. I am not seeing significantly more deer now than in the past, but far more bow hunters. I hate to see a lot of effort going in the wrong direction and these are no more than my own personal observations, but I think warming winters are contributing far more to tick borne disease increases than a significantly larger deer population. There is a lot of speculation about the low numbers of deer harvests. I have yet to hear the most obvious one… there are far fewer deer than people think. In addition, deer do not suffer from nor carry tick borne diseases, which leads me to my other wild theory. I have typically gotten 10 – 20 deer tick bites a year for decades and have never had a tick borne disease. I literally eat deer meat every day. I’m not a scientist, but is it possible that consuming enough venison transfers the same immunity deer have? In addition, venison is the finest meat there is if the deer is aged and the meat is prepared properly.
Scott raises some thought-provoking points, but I feel evidence only supports part of his thoughts.
He is correct that warmer winters are a major factor in tick expansion. Milder temperatures increase overwinter survival rates for ticks and lengthen their active season. That trend is well-documented across the Northeast, and it absolutely contributes to rising disease cases on the Vineyard.
However, the idea that deer density isn’t strongly linked to tick abundance is not supported by the research. While deer don’t “carry” tick-borne diseases themselves, they are the primary reproductive host for adult ticks. High deer numbers correlate directly with higher tick populations; reducing deer density in controlled studies has consistently reduced tick loads.
As for the theory that eating venison provides immunity, there is no scientific basis for that. Deer possess biological resistance to many tick-borne pathogens, but that immunity does not transfer to humans through consumption.
Scott is right about climate impacts, but the scientific consensus still supports deer-population management as a necessary part of reducing Vineyard tick risk.
This has to be the most important new organizations on the Island. I have seen to many of us, especially children, get their lives altered or destroyed by tick borne diseases. I would imagine there must be State and Federal funds to assist you? Are there natural predators you could introduce? How about introducing a disease that kills ticks and not harms humans?
I have been a hardcore Island outdoorsman for decades and never have had a single allergy or tick affliction until I contracted alpha gal this past August, saved, unconscious, by an epipen shot to the thigh in an ambulance on Circuit Ave. I have no idea how or where a tick got me. Through two decades, driving home from work in Menemsha to OB daily through summer, every early evening, I counted dozens (plural) of deer in the fields along North Road. While not the end of the world, alpha gal is dispiriting and a constantly looming health threat. No restaurants, takeout, or, strangely, sugar, which I’ve learned is in almost everything. Plain sugar, in so many condiments, even haughty esteemed ones, is processed with mammalian bone char. I am most concerned about children contracting alpha gal – the deer, as magnificent as they are to behold, aren’t native and aren’t worth it.
There have been dozens of deer in the Seven Gates fields along North Road for decades when the acorns disappear. Sorry to hear about your contracting alpha gal, but eliminating deer won’t eliminate ticks or alpha gal. Lone star ticks are here because of warming temperatures. I should think directing efforts to eradicating white footed mice, the actual carriers of these diseases, would better serve the goal of disease control. Also, the notion that white tailed deer are not native to the island is erroneous. Fallow deer, a non-native species of deer were introduced in the 1950’s. Their genes can still be seen in the antlers of some bucks on the island. Deer regularly swim to the Vineyard from the Elizabeth Islands, especially when chased by coyotes. Introducing breeding coyotes to the island would simply replace one tick host for another along with many other problems. I understand that people want a solution, but I am not sure killing all the deer will achieve it.
I completely agree with your statement. I believe this team should collaborate (gain more knowledge) from Boston-based teams like the Harvard Lyme Wellness Initiative and many others. There are seasoned investigators that have procured land through donations at Harvard to better understand how to mitigate this terrible tick problem – on a multifaceted level (this is their primary area of study and they look at all options to bring down the numbers). Proposing drones with (if I understand correctly) the mass slaughter of deer through the hiring of “marksmen” will not be something I will personally fund. It needs to be a strstrgic approach that includes fully understanding “the why”, several approaches to “how” and additionally the “now” – how do we actively help those afflicted now. I would measure what I put out in a statement before publishing it or donations will not be where you need them to be and you may not receive permission from the state to proceed.
The ticks aren’t just carried by deer. They are carried by squirrels, rabbits, skunk, wind, they are in the woods, on your grass, don’t you think a singular focus on deer culling is myopic? What are you going to do when killing deer doesn’t solve the problem? Kill every living thing on the island other than people? Make the island like a Westchester County suburb? The spraying of poisons to kill ticks continues. Ticks are like tanks, instead of the targeted ticks, our numbers of fireflies, bees and crickets are falling precipitously. What about populating our woods and lawns with guinea hens (what farmers in Vermont do and how I got rid of ticks from my yard when I lived there). Ticks are their preferred food, each guinea hen eats upwards of 50 ticks a day. They can go under vegetation, comb the forest floor. We have created an imbalance here and going after one species isn’t a solution, it isn’t even a bandaid. How about a coordinated multi-faceted plan that uses nontoxic and natural means to restore balance, including species restoration. I hope Tick Free MV can come up with more creative solutions than deer hunting.
This in only anecdotal info, but years ago we got Guinea hens for our property out toward West Chop. It worked. They ate the ticks.
Rachel, that is very thoughtful and sensible answer, I would 100% be supportive finding open minded solutions. I do remember the guinea hens here years ago, funny looking creatures, but they did have a voracious appetite for ticks.
It actually is a good idea to have as many guinea fowl around your property as possible. 50 years ago they were everywhere on the island for tick control. They are low maintenance, eat a lot more than 50 ticks a day, are cool to look at, and, in a pinch, very good eating.
Guinea Hens are the only common sense solution!
Put them everywhere!!
When i first moved to Edgartown in 1998, the first thing
i bought was guinea hens!!
Hear Hear Rachel….
Deer are not the only vector for lone star ticks, and are not needed for lone star ticks to survive. Immature lone star ticks primarily feed on rabbits, squirrels, mice, raccoons, turkeys and songbirds. Even if deer disappear, lone star ticks will continue to thrive.
I’m not sure what the answer is, but I hope that this group will cast a wide net pursuing answers and solutions, rather than think about the issue myopically as far as deer go. I wish them much luck in their endeavor.
Chickens saved us from ticks at a place where we lived. I have had an amusing thought…brought about by the goat scaping businesses. “Tick Picking Chickens”, would be the business. You’d need a pick-up truck with a coop on the back, some portable fencing, and, of course, chickens. (The business would be on a much smaller scale than goats.) The motto of the business would be: “Get the Flock Over There”. I do not mean to make light of the tick situation, but chickens worked for us.
It’s good to see an effort to do something about the ticks. Mr. Adler has the right idea. We need to take a comprehensive approach, and use all the tools available to us. In the 1960’s the Gypsy moth was devastating the forests of the northeastern U.S. Researchers started studying the “sex lives” of the species. Many thought it was a ridiculous waste of money, and perhaps even “immoral”. They said we should just get out the crop dusters and spray some kind of pesticide on the forests. DDT was working to control mosquitos after all, they said. Hindsight clearly showed us that having a full understanding of what we were dealing with worked quite well. The tick crisis here today clearly shows us that nature getting even a little out of balance (for whatever reason) can have dramatic consequences that we don’t understand and can’t control. There are many good reasons to cull the deer herd and bring it back in balance with the natural homeostatic state.. It will reduce the number of ticks, but not in significant numbers, Those who think picking up a gun and killing something is the “magic bullet” are likely to be disappointed.
It probably is naive to imagine that there is a single “Kill ‘Em All” solution that will make the issue go away in a flash. That said, I can’t be alone in feeling Study Fatigue where there are reports after reports about the issue with nothing offered for solutions besides staying inside. Hopefully this new initiative will offer something proactive and actionable.
The photo caption should be “Red deer in the UK”
I hate giving my dogs Frontline or Nexguard or any of the poisons they make to kill ticks on my dogs. I believe it shortens dog’s lives. Sometimes a live tick crawls off of one of my dogs and gets on me. I’ve often thought I wish they made something like Frontline for people.
This may sound stupid but is there a way that the ingredients in those kinds of drugs (poison) be made edible by deer, rats, mice, squirrels, skunks and whatever else ticks like? It could be placed in high critter traffic areas during high tick season. I know there would be lots of concerns ie getting into the water supply. Research regarding dosages because dosage size for my dogs is based on their weight and a mouse is a lot smaller than my smallest dog.
Obviously it’s just a pipe dream but I agree with your reader that says we can’t only focus on deer. I’m not a big fan of killing deer, especially when we have disrupted their habitat. I’ve always thought we should shoot a portion of them with birth control.
I need to learn more about how to raise guinea hens.
Does Tick Free MV accept private donations?
It can be said with a fair degree of confidence that the great majority of us have eaten some sort of genetically modified food in the past week. We have the technology to eliminate Lyme disease by altering one gene in the white footed mouse. No poison, no traps, no painful deaths for any mouse. So why don’t we do this ? Well, there are many people who are legitimately concerned that something could go wrong. We don’t want to create “Franken mice” after all, we certainly should not rush in where angels fear to tread. It seems that this technology is meeting resistance from the general public based on misinformation and fear. I strongly urge people to look at what is proposed, and weigh the benefits against what I think is a very small risk. In fact, i have not been able to find a single article that lays out an actual, verifiable risk associated with this particular endeavor. I understand– there are things we don’t know—-. but we do know the suffering and damage that Lyme disease wreaks on our community. Take the time to be informed, please. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/crispr-modify-mice-target-lyme-disease-60-minutes/
It’s my perception that there’s a tendency at large to balk when a solution is presented, no matter how much everyone agrees that the ticks are a problem. I’ve had a hard time making sense of the cognitive dissonance that has people choosing the status quo of rampant tick-borne diseases over a solution like the one mentioned above.
If the deer are (were) such the contributing factor to increased tick populations , then why are the Elizabeth islands completely infested with ticks even after the coyotes killed off much of the deer population in the last 30 years?
I know the ticks are everywhere but for some reason I’m not seeing many on the deer I’ve harvested the past couple years, not sure what the other hunters are seeing.
In light of Scott Terry’s comment, some folks might be interested in this book.
https://islandpress.org/books/lyme#desc