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Tick risk in Wake County, North Carolina
Wake County covers 12 towns. Its CDC Lyme rate of 1 cases per 100,000 people a year ranks in the top 22% 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 Wake County
Peak-season modeled risk. Tick risk is local, even within one county.
At the summer peak, tick risk across Wake County runs from Cary (moderate) at the high end to Rolesville (moderate) at the low end. The difference is habitat: forest cover across the county ranges from 45% to 65%, and more forest and woodland edge means more places ticks can quest for a host.
- CaryModerate risk
- RaleighModerate risk
- GarnerModerate risk
- ApexModerate risk
- Wake ForestModerate risk
Tick species in Wake 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 Wake 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 Wake 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 Wake County, NC
Professional tick control across Wake 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 Wake County's more wooded towns.
How much does tick control cost in Wake County?
Most Wake 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 Wake County. No cost, no obligation.
Common questions about ticks in Wake County
Which towns in Wake County have the highest tick risk?
At the summer peak, Cary carries the highest modeled tick risk in Wake County, followed by Raleigh, Garner, Apex, Wake Forest. Risk tracks how wooded a town is: forest cover across Wake County ranges from 45% to 65%, and the more forest and woodland edge a town has, the more habitat ticks have to quest from. Rolesville sits at the low end. Every town has its own daily score, so check the one nearest you.
What ticks live in Wake County?
CDC surveillance records 3 established tick species in Wake 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 Wake County?
Wake County reports about 1 Lyme cases per 100,000 people a year (U.S. CDC), in the top 22% of U.S. counties for reported Lyme disease (the 16th-highest of North Carolina's 98 counties). Lyme is a smaller factor here than in the Northeast, but TickZone still uses this county rate as part of the disease baseline behind every town's score, alongside local lone-star tick pressure.
Does Wake County have lone star ticks that cause alpha-gal syndrome?
Yes. The lone star tick is established in Wake 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 Wake County
Tick risk is local. Pick the town nearest you.