Washington · West
Tick risk in Thurston County, Washington
Thurston County covers 11 towns. CDC reports too few cases here to publish a county Lyme rate, but each town still has a daily score built from local weather, habitat, and season. Pick your town below for today's reading.
Highest and lowest tick risk in Thurston County
Peak-season modeled risk. Tick risk is local, even within one county.
At the summer peak, tick risk across Thurston County runs from North Yelm (moderate) at the high end to Grand Mound (moderate) at the low end. The difference is habitat: forest cover across the county ranges from 31% to 66%, and more forest and woodland edge means more places ticks can quest for a host.
- North YelmModerate risk
- OlympiaModerate risk
- BucodaModerate risk
- RainierModerate risk
- TanglewildeModerate risk
Tick species in Thurston County
CDC county surveillance (established or reported)
- Deer tickReported
- American dog tickReported
- Lone star tickNot established
- Gulf Coast tickNot established
Reported in this county for the deer tick, the main Lyme carrier. “Not established” means no CDC surveillance record for Thurston 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 Thurston 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 Thurston County, WA
Professional tick control across Thurston 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 Thurston County's more wooded towns.
How much does tick control cost in Thurston County?
Most Thurston 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 Thurston County. No cost, no obligation.
Common questions about ticks in Thurston County
Which towns in Thurston County have the highest tick risk?
At the summer peak, North Yelm carries the highest modeled tick risk in Thurston County, followed by Olympia, Bucoda, Rainier, Tanglewilde. Risk tracks how wooded a town is: forest cover across Thurston County ranges from 31% to 66%, and the more forest and woodland edge a town has, the more habitat ticks have to quest from. Grand Mound sits at the low end. Every town has its own daily score, so check the one nearest you.
What ticks live in Thurston County?
CDC county surveillance does not yet list an established tick species for Thurston County, but that reflects a surveillance gap, not absence. The blacklegged (deer) tick, the main Lyme carrier, is found across the west. Take the usual precautions after time outdoors.
Is Lyme disease common in Thurston County?
CDC reports too few cases in Thurston County to publish a stable county Lyme rate, which is common in rural or low-population counties. That does not mean the risk is zero: Lyme and other tickborne illnesses occur across the Northeast.
All towns in Thurston County
Tick risk is local. Pick the town nearest you.