Ticks in North Dakota

Ticks are active in North Dakota whenever the ground is not frozen, led by the Lyme-carrying deer tick. TickZone scores all 355 North Dakota 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 North Dakota

Tick season in North Dakota 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
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 North Dakota (2026)

North Dakota's highest-risk towns are spread across several counties, led by Cass (7 CDC-reported Lyme cases per 100k). The top 10 towns run 32 to 70 percent forest, ranked at peak season so the list stays stable.

  1. 1North River Cass CountyModerate at peak
  2. 2Fort Ransom Ransom CountyModerate at peak
  3. 3Fort Yates Sioux CountyLow at peak
  4. 4Briarwood Cass CountyLow at peak
  5. 5Prairie Rose Cass CountyLow at peak
  6. 6Walhalla Pembina CountyLow at peak
  7. 7Manvel Grand Forks CountyLow at peak
  8. 8Neche Pembina CountyLow at peak
  9. 9Hannaford Griggs CountyLow at peak
  10. 10Buchanan Stutsman CountyLow at peak

See the riskiest towns in every state →

All North Dakota towns, by county

Adams County · 4 towns

Barnes County · 13 towns

Benson County · 9 towns

Billings County · 1 towns

Bottineau County · 12 towns

Bowman County · 4 towns

Burke County · 6 towns

Burleigh County · 4 towns

Cass County · 26 towns · 7/100k Lyme

Cavalier County · 12 towns

Dickey County · 6 towns

Divide County · 4 towns

Dunn County · 4 towns

Eddy County · 2 towns

Emmons County · 5 towns

Foster County · 4 towns

Golden Valley County · 3 towns

Grand Forks County · 9 towns

Grant County · 4 towns

Griggs County · 3 towns

Hettinger County · 3 towns

Kidder County · 6 towns

LaMoure County · 8 towns

Logan County · 3 towns

McHenry County · 12 towns

McIntosh County · 5 towns

McKenzie County · 3 towns

McLean County · 12 towns

Mercer County · 6 towns

Morton County · 6 towns

Mountrail County · 7 towns

Nelson County · 7 towns

Oliver County · 1 towns

Pembina County · 11 towns

Pierce County · 3 towns

Ramsey County · 7 towns

Ransom County · 5 towns

Renville County · 6 towns

Richland County · 14 towns

Rolette County · 5 towns

Sargent County · 7 towns

Sheridan County · 3 towns

Sioux County · 3 towns

Slope County · 2 towns

Stark County · 6 towns

Steele County · 4 towns

Stutsman County · 11 towns

Towner County · 6 towns

Traill County · 8 towns

Walsh County · 13 towns

Ward County · 12 towns

Wells County · 7 towns

Williams County · 8 towns

North Dakota tick questions

Are there ticks in North Dakota?
Yes. North Dakota has ticks in every county, led by the deer tick (blacklegged tick) that spreads Lyme disease, along with the American dog tick. They are active whenever the ground is not frozen, and today 3 of the state's 355 towns are at moderate or high tick risk on TickZone's daily score.
What types of ticks live in North Dakota?
North Dakota has the deer tick (blacklegged tick), which carries Lyme disease; the American dog tick; and the lone star tick, which is not established in the state and causes alpha-gal syndrome. See the North Dakota tick identification chart for photos and how to tell them apart.
When does tick season start and end in North Dakota?
In North Dakota, 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 North Dakota, 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 North Dakota?
The deer tick, also called the blacklegged tick, is the tick that spreads Lyme disease in North Dakota. The American dog tick and lone star tick do not carry Lyme.