Ticks in Nebraska

Ticks are active in Nebraska whenever the ground is not frozen, led by the Lyme-carrying deer tick. TickZone scores all 528 Nebraska 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 Nebraska

Tick season in Nebraska 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 Nebraska (2026)

Nebraska's highest-risk towns are spread across several counties, led by Nemaha. The top 10 towns run 53 to 78 percent forest, ranked at peak season so the list stays stable.

  1. 1Brownville Nemaha CountyModerate at peak
  2. 2Peru Nemaha CountyModerate at peak
  3. 3Memphis Saunders CountyModerate at peak
  4. 4Dannebrog Howard CountyModerate at peak
  5. 5Walthill Thurston CountyModerate at peak
  6. 6Leshara Saunders CountyModerate at peak
  7. 7Alvo Cass CountyModerate at peak
  8. 8Washington Washington CountyModerate at peak
  9. 9Avoca Cass CountyModerate at peak
  10. 10Oakdale Antelope CountyModerate at peak

See the riskiest towns in every state →

All Nebraska towns, by county

Adams County · 7 towns

Antelope County · 7 towns

Arthur County · 1 towns

Blaine County · 2 towns

Boone County · 5 towns

Box Butte County · 2 towns

Boyd County · 8 towns

Brown County · 3 towns

Buffalo County · 9 towns

Burt County · 5 towns

Butler County · 12 towns

Cass County · 15 towns

Cedar County · 10 towns

Chase County · 3 towns

Cherry County · 7 towns

Cheyenne County · 5 towns

Clay County · 10 towns

Colfax County · 6 towns

Cuming County · 4 towns

Custer County · 11 towns

Dakota County · 5 towns

Dawes County · 3 towns

Dawson County · 7 towns

Deuel County · 2 towns

Dixon County · 10 towns

Dodge County · 10 towns

Douglas County · 6 towns

Dundy County · 2 towns

Fillmore County · 8 towns

Franklin County · 7 towns

Frontier County · 5 towns

Furnas County · 8 towns

Gage County · 12 towns

Garden County · 2 towns

Garfield County · 1 towns

Gosper County · 2 towns

Grant County · 1 towns

Greeley County · 4 towns

Hall County · 5 towns

Hamilton County · 7 towns

Harlan County · 6 towns

Hayes County · 2 towns

Hitchcock County · 4 towns

Holt County · 8 towns

Hooker County · 1 towns

Howard County · 7 towns

Jefferson County · 9 towns

Johnson County · 5 towns

Kearney County · 5 towns

Keith County · 3 towns

Keya Paha County · 2 towns

Kimball County · 3 towns

Knox County · 11 towns

Lancaster County · 13 towns

Lincoln County · 7 towns

Logan County · 2 towns

Loup County · 1 towns

Madison County · 6 towns

Merrick County · 5 towns

Morrill County · 3 towns

Nance County · 3 towns

Nemaha County · 7 towns

Nuckolls County · 7 towns

Otoe County · 10 towns

Pawnee County · 6 towns

Perkins County · 4 towns

Phelps County · 5 towns

Pierce County · 6 towns

Platte County · 9 towns

Polk County · 4 towns

Red Willow County · 5 towns

Richardson County · 9 towns

Rock County · 2 towns

Saline County · 8 towns

Sarpy County · 5 towns

Saunders County · 15 towns

Scotts Bluff County · 10 towns

Seward County · 10 towns

Sheridan County · 4 towns

Sherman County · 5 towns

Sioux County · 1 towns

Stanton County · 2 towns

Thayer County · 11 towns

Thomas County · 2 towns

Thurston County · 5 towns

Valley County · 4 towns

Washington County · 6 towns

Wayne County · 5 towns

Webster County · 5 towns

Wheeler County · 2 towns

York County · 9 towns

Nebraska tick questions

Are there ticks in Nebraska?
Yes. Nebraska 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 114 of the state's 528 towns are at moderate or high tick risk on TickZone's daily score.
What types of ticks live in Nebraska?
Nebraska 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 Nebraska tick identification chart for photos and how to tell them apart.
When does tick season start and end in Nebraska?
In Nebraska, 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 Nebraska, 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 Nebraska?
The deer tick, also called the blacklegged tick, is the tick that spreads Lyme disease in Nebraska. The American dog tick and lone star tick do not carry Lyme.