Tick risk in Smith County, Kansas
Smith County covers 6 towns. CDC reports too few cases here to publish a county Lyme rate, but each town still has a daily score built from local weather, habitat, and season. Pick your town below for today's reading.
Highest and lowest tick risk in Smith County
Peak-season modeled risk. Tick risk is local, even within one county.
At the summer peak, tick risk across Smith County runs from Cedar (moderate) at the high end to Kensington (low) at the low end. The difference is habitat: forest cover across the county ranges from 1% to 22%, and more forest and woodland edge means more places ticks can quest for a host.
- CedarModerate risk
- AtholModerate risk
- LebanonLow risk
- GaylordLow risk
- Smith CenterLow risk
Tick species in Smith County
CDC county surveillance (established or reported)
- Deer tickEstablished
- American dog tickEstablished
- Lone star tickEstablished
- Gulf Coast tickNot established
Established in this county for the deer tick, the main Lyme carrier. “Not established” means no CDC surveillance record for Smith 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 Smith 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 Smith County, KS
Professional tick control across Smith 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 Smith County's more wooded towns.
How much does tick control cost in Smith County?
Most Smith 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 Smith County. No cost, no obligation.
Common questions about ticks in Smith County
Which towns in Smith County have the highest tick risk?
At the summer peak, Cedar carries the highest modeled tick risk in Smith County, followed by Athol, Lebanon, Gaylord, Smith Center. Risk tracks how wooded a town is: forest cover across Smith County ranges from 1% to 22%, and the more forest and woodland edge a town has, the more habitat ticks have to quest from. Kensington sits at the low end. Every town has its own daily score, so check the one nearest you.
What ticks live in Smith County?
CDC surveillance records 3 established tick species in Smith County: Deer tick, American dog tick, Lone star 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 Smith County?
CDC reports too few cases in Smith County to publish a stable county Lyme rate, which is common in rural or low-population counties, and typical this far south. That does not mean the risk is zero: the lone star tick, not Lyme, is the bigger local concern.
Does Smith County have lone star ticks that cause alpha-gal syndrome?
Yes. The lone star tick is established in Smith 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 Smith County
Tick risk is local. Pick the town nearest you.