Tick risk in Johnson County, Iowa
Johnson County covers 11 towns and carries the 4th-highest tick-borne-disease baseline of Iowa's 99 counties, with a Lyme rate of 21 cases per 100,000 people a year (0th of 0 counties in the Midwest). CDC surveillance lists Deer tick and American dog 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 Johnson County
Peak-season modeled risk. Tick risk is local, even within one county.
At the summer peak, tick risk across Johnson County runs from University Heights (moderate) at the high end to Lone Tree (low) at the low end. The difference is habitat: forest cover across the county ranges from 11% to 68%, and more forest and woodland edge means more places ticks can quest for a host.
- University HeightsModerate risk
- Iowa CityModerate risk
- CoralvilleLow risk
- ShueyvilleLow risk
- SwisherLow risk
Tick species in Johnson County
CDC county surveillance (established or reported)
- Deer tickEstablished
- American dog tickEstablished
- Lone star tickReported
- Gulf Coast tickNot established
Established in this county for the deer tick, the main Lyme carrier. “Not established” means no CDC surveillance record for Johnson 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 Johnson 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 Johnson County, IA
Professional tick control across Johnson 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 Johnson County's more wooded towns.
How much does tick control cost in Johnson County?
Most Johnson 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 Johnson County. No cost, no obligation.
Common questions about ticks in Johnson County
Which towns in Johnson County have the highest tick risk?
At the summer peak, University Heights carries the highest modeled tick risk in Johnson County, followed by Iowa City, Coralville, Shueyville, Swisher. Risk tracks how wooded a town is: forest cover across Johnson County ranges from 11% to 68%, and the more forest and woodland edge a town has, the more habitat ticks have to quest from. Lone Tree sits at the low end. Every town has its own daily score, so check the one nearest you.
What ticks live in Johnson County?
CDC surveillance records 2 established tick species in Johnson County: Deer tick, American dog tick. The blacklegged (deer) tick is the main carrier of Lyme disease in the Northeast. "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 Johnson County?
Johnson County reports about 21 Lyme cases per 100,000 people a year (U.S. CDC), the 0th-highest of 0 counties in the Midwest and the 4th-highest of Iowa's 99 counties. Lyme is the dominant blacklegged-tick disease, so TickZone uses this county rate as the disease baseline behind every town's score.
All towns in Johnson County
Tick risk is local. Pick the town nearest you.