Ticks in New York

Ticks are active in New York whenever the ground is not frozen, led by the Lyme-carrying deer tick. TickZone scores all 1011 New York 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 New York

Tick season in New York 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 New York (2026)

New York's highest structural tick risk concentrates in Otsego County, which holds 7 of the state's top 10 towns (560 CDC-reported Lyme cases per 100k). The top 10 towns run 75 to 95 percent forest, ranked at peak season so the list stays stable.

  1. 1Roseboom Otsego CountyHigh at peak
  2. 2Maryland Otsego CountyHigh at peak
  3. 3Oneonta (town) Otsego CountyHigh at peak
  4. 4Otego Otsego CountyHigh at peak
  5. 5Decatur Otsego CountyHigh at peak
  6. 6Middlefield Otsego CountyHigh at peak
  7. 7Butternuts Otsego CountyHigh at peak
  8. 8Colchester Delaware CountyHigh at peak
  9. 9Hancock Delaware CountyHigh at peak
  10. 10Tompkins Delaware CountyHigh at peak

See the riskiest towns in every state →

All New York towns, by county

Albany County · 13 towns · 136/100k Lyme

Allegany County · 30 towns · 315/100k Lyme

Bronx County · 1 towns

Broome County · 17 towns · 163/100k Lyme

Cattaraugus County · 37 towns · 192/100k Lyme

Cayuga County · 24 towns · 117/100k Lyme

Chautauqua County · 30 towns · 99/100k Lyme

Chemung County · 12 towns · 109/100k Lyme

Chenango County · 22 towns · 400/100k Lyme

Clinton County · 15 towns · 118/100k Lyme

Columbia County · 19 towns · 251/100k Lyme

Cortland County · 16 towns · 180/100k Lyme

Delaware County · 19 towns · 539/100k Lyme

Dutchess County · 22 towns · 377/100k Lyme

Erie County · 30 towns · 33/100k Lyme

Essex County · 18 towns · 326/100k Lyme

Franklin County · 20 towns · 80/100k Lyme

Fulton County · 12 towns · 118/100k Lyme

Genesee County · 15 towns · 35/100k Lyme

Greene County · 14 towns · 356/100k Lyme

Hamilton County · 9 towns · 118/100k Lyme

Herkimer County · 20 towns · 249/100k Lyme

Jefferson County · 23 towns · 175/100k Lyme

Kings County · 1 towns

Lewis County · 17 towns · 224/100k Lyme

Livingston County · 17 towns · 167/100k Lyme

Madison County · 16 towns · 176/100k Lyme

Monroe County · 21 towns · 50/100k Lyme

Montgomery County · 11 towns · 139/100k Lyme

Nassau County · 5 towns · 44/100k Lyme

New York County · 1 towns

Niagara County · 16 towns · 14/100k Lyme

Oneida County · 28 towns · 133/100k Lyme

Onondaga County · 21 towns · 100/100k Lyme

Ontario County · 18 towns · 166/100k Lyme

Orange County · 24 towns · 263/100k Lyme

Orleans County · 10 towns · 37/100k Lyme

Oswego County · 24 towns · 185/100k Lyme

Otsego County · 25 towns · 560/100k Lyme

Putnam County · 6 towns · 318/100k Lyme

Queens County · 1 towns

Rensselaer County · 16 towns · 263/100k Lyme

Richmond County · 1 towns

Rockland County · 5 towns · 173/100k Lyme

Saratoga County · 21 towns · 97/100k Lyme

Schenectady County · 6 towns · 74/100k Lyme

Schoharie County · 16 towns · 425/100k Lyme

Schuyler County · 8 towns · 306/100k Lyme

Seneca County · 10 towns · 101/100k Lyme

St. Lawrence County · 33 towns · 153/100k Lyme

Steuben County · 34 towns · 218/100k Lyme

Suffolk County · 12 towns · 195/100k Lyme

Sullivan County · 15 towns · 393/100k Lyme

Tioga County · 9 towns · 288/100k Lyme

Tompkins County · 10 towns · 321/100k Lyme

Ulster County · 21 towns · 457/100k Lyme

Warren County · 12 towns · 299/100k Lyme

Washington County · 17 towns · 438/100k Lyme

Wayne County · 15 towns · 64/100k Lyme

Westchester County · 25 towns · 116/100k Lyme

Wyoming County · 16 towns · 81/100k Lyme

Yates County · 9 towns · 268/100k Lyme

New York tick questions

Are there ticks in New York?
Yes. New York 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 969 of the state's 1011 towns are at moderate or high tick risk on TickZone's daily score.
What types of ticks live in New York?
New York has the deer tick (blacklegged tick), which carries Lyme disease; the American dog tick; and the lone star tick, which is established in the state and causes alpha-gal syndrome. See the New York tick identification chart for photos and how to tell them apart.
When does tick season start and end in New York?
In New York, 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 New York, 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 New York?
The deer tick, also called the blacklegged tick, is the tick that spreads Lyme disease in New York. The American dog tick and lone star tick do not carry Lyme.