Ticks in Indiana

Ticks are active in Indiana whenever the ground is not frozen, led by the Lyme-carrying deer tick. TickZone scores all 566 Indiana towns every morning, so risk stays local: pick your town for today's number, a 7-day outlook, and what's driving it.

Tick season in Indiana

Tick season in Indiana runs whenever the ground is not frozen, roughly March through November, with two peaks. Nymph deer ticks, the poppy-seed-sized stage that causes most Lyme cases, peak from late May through July. Adult deer ticks make a second push in October and November, and on any winter day above about 40 F they can quest again. American dog ticks are busiest from April through July.

Generalized for the Northeast and Upper Midwest Lyme belt.
Life stageJFMAMJJASOND
Deer tick nymphs
Deer tick adults
American dog tick
Lone star tick
Peak Active
Generalized for the Northeast and Upper Midwest Lyme belt. Activity windows by life stage from TickEncounter (Univ. of Rhode Island) and the Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases. Any warm spell can wake ticks earlier than the calendar suggests.

Those are averages, and any single week can run hotter or colder than the calendar suggests. The daily score on every town page folds the season, the weather, and local habitat into one number each morning, so it is the safer way to time yard work, hikes, and pet prevention.

Highest-risk towns in Indiana (2026)

Indiana's highest-risk towns are spread across several counties, led by Marion (1 CDC-reported Lyme cases per 100k). The top 10 towns run 82 to 98 percent forest, ranked at peak season so the list stays stable.

  1. 1North Crows Nest Marion CountyModerate at peak
  2. 2Rocky Ripple Marion CountyModerate at peak
  3. 3Williams Creek Marion CountyModerate at peak
  4. 4Woodlawn Heights Madison CountyModerate at peak
  5. 5River Forest Madison CountyModerate at peak
  6. 6Michiana Shores LaPorte CountyModerate at peak
  7. 7Pottawattamie Park LaPorte CountyModerate at peak
  8. 8Bethany Morgan CountyModerate at peak
  9. 9Indian Village St. Joseph CountyModerate at peak
  10. 10Crows Nest Marion CountyModerate at peak

See the riskiest towns in every state →

All Indiana towns, by county

Adams County · 4 towns

Allen County · 7 towns

Bartholomew County · 6 towns

Benton County · 6 towns

Blackford County · 3 towns

Boone County · 7 towns

Brown County · 1 towns

Carroll County · 5 towns

Cass County · 5 towns

Clark County · 6 towns · 4/100k Lyme

Clay County · 7 towns

Clinton County · 6 towns

Crawford County · 5 towns

Daviess County · 7 towns

Dearborn County · 7 towns

Decatur County · 5 towns

DeKalb County · 8 towns

Delaware County · 7 towns

Dubois County · 5 towns

Elkhart County · 7 towns · 4/100k Lyme

Fayette County · 1 towns

Floyd County · 3 towns

Fountain County · 8 towns

Franklin County · 5 towns

Fulton County · 4 towns

Gibson County · 10 towns

Grant County · 10 towns

Greene County · 7 towns

Hamilton County · 8 towns · 1/100k Lyme

Hancock County · 8 towns

Harrison County · 9 towns

Hendricks County · 11 towns

Henry County · 15 towns

Howard County · 3 towns

Huntington County · 6 towns

Jackson County · 4 towns

Jasper County · 4 towns · 15/100k Lyme

Jay County · 6 towns

Jefferson County · 4 towns

Jennings County · 2 towns

Johnson County · 8 towns

Knox County · 9 towns

Kosciusko County · 13 towns · 8/100k Lyme

LaGrange County · 3 towns

Lake County · 19 towns · 3/100k Lyme

LaPorte County · 11 towns · 5/100k Lyme

Lawrence County · 3 towns

Madison County · 15 towns

Marion County · 15 towns · 1/100k Lyme

Marshall County · 6 towns · 14/100k Lyme

Martin County · 3 towns

Miami County · 6 towns

Monroe County · 3 towns

Montgomery County · 11 towns

Morgan County · 7 towns

Newton County · 5 towns

Noble County · 7 towns

Ohio County · 1 towns

Orange County · 4 towns

Owen County · 2 towns

Parke County · 6 towns

Perry County · 3 towns

Pike County · 3 towns

Porter County · 11 towns · 7/100k Lyme

Posey County · 5 towns

Pulaski County · 4 towns

Putnam County · 6 towns

Randolph County · 9 towns

Ripley County · 7 towns

Rush County · 3 towns

Scott County · 2 towns

Shelby County · 3 towns

Spencer County · 7 towns

St. Joseph County · 9 towns · 7/100k Lyme

Starke County · 3 towns

Steuben County · 6 towns

Sullivan County · 7 towns

Switzerland County · 2 towns

Tippecanoe County · 6 towns · 3/100k Lyme

Tipton County · 4 towns

Union County · 2 towns

Vanderburgh County · 2 towns

Vermillion County · 7 towns

Vigo County · 4 towns · 5/100k Lyme

Wabash County · 5 towns

Warren County · 4 towns

Warrick County · 6 towns

Washington County · 6 towns

Wayne County · 14 towns

Wells County · 6 towns

White County · 7 towns

Whitley County · 4 towns

Indiana tick questions

Are there ticks in Indiana?
Yes. Indiana has ticks in every county, led by the deer tick (blacklegged tick) that spreads Lyme disease, along with the American dog tick and the lone star tick. They are active whenever the ground is not frozen, and today 352 of the state's 566 towns are at moderate or high tick risk on TickZone's daily score.
What types of ticks live in Indiana?
Indiana has the deer tick (blacklegged tick), which carries Lyme disease; the American dog tick; and the lone star tick, which is reported in the state and causes alpha-gal syndrome. See the Indiana tick identification chart for photos and how to tell them apart.
When does tick season start and end in Indiana?
In Indiana, ticks are active whenever the ground is not frozen, roughly March through November. Nymph deer ticks peak in June and July and cause most Lyme cases, and adult ticks have a second peak in the fall. On any winter day above freezing, adult ticks can still bite.
When is flea and tick season?
Flea and tick season generally runs from early spring through late fall, peaking in the warm summer months. In Indiana, start prevention for pets and people in March and keep it up through November, since ticks can bite on any mild day.
Which tick carries Lyme disease in Indiana?
The deer tick, also called the blacklegged tick, is the tick that spreads Lyme disease in Indiana. The American dog tick and lone star tick do not carry Lyme.