Tick risk in Marion County, Florida
Marion County covers 5 towns and carries the 6th-highest tick-borne-disease baseline of Florida's 67 counties, with a Lyme rate of 2 cases per 100,000 people a year (161st of 1378 counties in the South). CDC surveillance lists Deer tick, American dog tick, Lone star tick, and Gulf Coast tick as established here. Pick your town below for today's score, a 7-day outlook, and what's driving it.
Highest and lowest tick risk in Marion County
Peak-season modeled risk. Tick risk is local, even within one county.
Tick species in Marion County
CDC county surveillance (established or reported)
- Deer tickEstablished
- American dog tickEstablished
- Lone star tickEstablished
- Gulf Coast tickEstablished
Established in this county for the deer tick, the main Lyme carrier. “Not established” means no CDC surveillance record for Marion County, not that a town is tick free. Source: CDC tick surveillance (ArboNET Tick Module), 2025.
Diseases found in local ticks
No CDC tick-testing records for Marion County. That is a surveillance gap, not a sign these diseases are absent. Lyme and other tickborne illnesses occur across the region.
Tick control in Marion County, FL
Professional tick control across Marion County usually means a barrier treatment along the lawn edge, leaf litter, stone walls, and shady borders where ticks wait for a host, applied two to four times a season by a licensed pest control company. It is the single most effective way to cut tick numbers in the part of the yard your family actually uses, and it matters most in Marion County's more wooded towns.
How much does tick control cost in Marion County?
Most Marion County homeowners pay about $100 to $200 per visit for professional tick spraying, or roughly $350 to $600 for a full season of barrier treatments, depending on lot size and how wooded the property is. Quotes are free, so it costs nothing to get a real number for your yard.
From a vetted local tick exterminator serving Marion County. No cost, no obligation.
Common questions about ticks in Marion County
Which towns in Marion County have the highest tick risk?
At the summer peak, McIntosh carries the highest modeled tick risk in Marion County, followed by Reddick, Belleview, Dunnellon, Ocala. Risk tracks how wooded a town is: forest cover across Marion County ranges from 42% to 81%, and the more forest and woodland edge a town has, the more habitat ticks have to quest from. Ocala sits at the low end. Every town has its own daily score, so check the one nearest you.
What ticks live in Marion County?
CDC surveillance records 4 established tick species in Marion County: Deer tick, American dog tick, Lone star tick, Gulf Coast tick. The lone star tick is the tick most responsible for human bites here, and its bite causes alpha-gal syndrome; the blacklegged (deer) tick, the main Lyme carrier, is a minor factor this far south. "Not established" for a species means there is no CDC surveillance record for the county, not that the tick is absent.
Is Lyme disease common in Marion County?
Marion County reports about 2 Lyme cases per 100,000 people a year (U.S. CDC), the 161st-highest of 1378 counties in the South and the 6th-highest of Florida's 67 counties. Lyme is a smaller factor here than in the Northeast, but TickZone still uses this county rate as part of the disease baseline behind every town's score, alongside local lone-star tick pressure.
Does Marion County have lone star ticks that cause alpha-gal syndrome?
Yes. The lone star tick is established in Marion County and is the tick most responsible for human bites in the county. Its bite can trigger alpha-gal syndrome, a delayed allergy to red meat and other mammal products, along with ehrlichiosis and STARI. Learn the symptoms and what foods to avoid.
All towns in Marion County
Tick risk is local. Pick the town nearest you.