Tick risk in Beaufort County, South Carolina
Beaufort County covers 4 towns and carries the 1st-highest tick-borne-disease baseline of South Carolina's 46 counties, with a Lyme rate of 4 cases per 100,000 people a year (150th of 1378 counties in the South). CDC surveillance lists Deer tick, American dog tick, Lone star tick, and Gulf Coast 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 Beaufort County
Peak-season modeled risk. Tick risk is local, even within one county.
At the summer peak, tick risk across Beaufort County runs from Port Royal (moderate) at the high end to Beaufort (moderate) at the low end. The difference is habitat: forest cover across the county ranges from 35% to 66%, and more forest and woodland edge means more places ticks can quest for a host.
- Port RoyalModerate risk
- BlufftonModerate risk
- Hilton Head IslandModerate risk
- BeaufortModerate risk
Tick species in Beaufort County
CDC county surveillance (established or reported)
- Deer tickEstablished
- American dog tickEstablished
- Lone star tickEstablished
- Gulf Coast tickEstablished
Established in this county for the deer tick, the main Lyme carrier. “Not established” means no CDC surveillance record for Beaufort 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 Beaufort 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 Beaufort County, SC
Professional tick control across Beaufort 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 Beaufort County's more wooded towns.
How much does tick control cost in Beaufort County?
Most Beaufort 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 Beaufort County. No cost, no obligation.
Common questions about ticks in Beaufort County
Which towns in Beaufort County have the highest tick risk?
At the summer peak, Port Royal carries the highest modeled tick risk in Beaufort County, followed by Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, Beaufort. Risk tracks how wooded a town is: forest cover across Beaufort County ranges from 35% to 66%, and the more forest and woodland edge a town has, the more habitat ticks have to quest from. Beaufort sits at the low end. Every town has its own daily score, so check the one nearest you.
What ticks live in Beaufort County?
CDC surveillance records 4 established tick species in Beaufort County: Deer tick, American dog tick, Lone star tick, Gulf Coast 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 Beaufort County?
Beaufort County reports about 4 Lyme cases per 100,000 people a year (U.S. CDC), the 150th-highest of 1378 counties in the South and the 1st-highest of South Carolina's 46 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 Beaufort County have lone star ticks that cause alpha-gal syndrome?
Yes. The lone star tick is established in Beaufort 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 Beaufort County
Tick risk is local. Pick the town nearest you.