New Jersey · Northeast

Tick risk in Ocean County, New Jersey

Ocean County covers 33 towns. Its CDC Lyme rate of 85 cases per 100,000 people a year ranks in the top 10% of U.S. counties for reported Lyme disease. CDC surveillance lists Deer tick, American dog tick, and Lone star 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 Ocean County

Peak-season modeled risk. Tick risk is local, even within one county.

At the summer peak, tick risk across Ocean County runs from Jackson Township (high) at the high end to Ship Bottom Borough (low) at the low end. The difference is habitat: forest cover across the county ranges from 0% to 88%, and more forest and woodland edge means more places ticks can quest for a host.

Tick species in Ocean County

CDC county surveillance (established or reported)

Deer tickEstablished
American dog tickEstablished
Lone star tickEstablished
Gulf Coast tickReported

Established in this county for the deer tick, the main Lyme carrier. “Not established” means no CDC surveillance record for Ocean County, not that a town is tick free. Source: CDC tick surveillance (ArboNET Tick Module), 2025.

Diseases found in local ticks

Lyme diseaseBabesiosisBorrelia miyamotoi (relapsing fever)

Pathogens detected in ticks tested from Ocean County (CDC tick-testing surveillance, 2025). This lists what has been found, not how common it is.

Tick control in Ocean County, NJ

Professional tick control across Ocean 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 Ocean County's more wooded towns.

How much does tick control cost in Ocean County?

Most Ocean 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.

Get a free tick control quote

From a vetted local tick exterminator serving Ocean County. No cost, no obligation.

Common questions about ticks in Ocean County

Which towns in Ocean County have the highest tick risk?

At the summer peak, Jackson Township carries the highest modeled tick risk in Ocean County, followed by Lacey Township, Manchester Township, Pine Beach Borough, Ocean Township. Risk tracks how wooded a town is: forest cover across Ocean County ranges from 0% to 88%, and the more forest and woodland edge a town has, the more habitat ticks have to quest from. Ship Bottom Borough sits at the low end. Every town has its own daily score, so check the one nearest you.

What ticks live in Ocean County?

CDC surveillance records 3 established tick species in Ocean County: Deer tick, American dog tick, Lone star 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 Ocean County?

Ocean County reports about 85 Lyme cases per 100,000 people a year (U.S. CDC), in the top 10% of U.S. counties for reported Lyme disease (the 8th-highest of New Jersey's 21 counties). Lyme is the dominant blacklegged-tick disease, so TickZone uses this county rate as the disease baseline behind every town's score.