It’s time to ramp up efforts to prevent tick-borne illnesses, scientists say – CBC
Warmer temperatures mean ticks are showing up in places they haven’t before
Jul 30, 2025
“I know it’s not stylish,” admits Nicholas Ogden, “but it actually does prevent the ticks.”
He tucks his pants into his socks, then sprays insect repellant over both.
The scientist is preparing to test a section of Mont-Saint Bruno, a hill in southern Quebec, for ticks — without catching the diseases they carry. Today, he’s got a special eye out for black-legged tick nymphs. At this stage, they’re about as big as a poppy seed, and they’re the most likely suspects carrying bacteria and parasites that cause maladies like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis or babesiosis.
With warmer temperatures, ticks have been taking root in places they never have before. And Ogden, a senior scientist at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), thinks it’s only going to get worse.
“The studies that we’ve done suggest it still has a way to go. The ticks are still continuing to spread their geographic range,” said Ogden, who has studied ticks for decades.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/tick-prevention-canada-1.7596902
