As tick season reaches its height, it’s important to watch the trends of the nearly invisible and potentially dangerous insect — and right now, those trends are moving in the wrong direction.
Munson Urgent Care Medical Director Jacob Szafranski is continuing to see an increase in tick bites in the urgent care system in northwest lower Michigan.
“We are similar to many other places in Michigan and definitely have seen increased incidents in tick bites in urgent care,” Szafranski said. “It’s most likely multi-factorial and theories is that the milder winter and longer summers allow tick populations to survive in climate regions, which they may not have been able to survive in the past.”
The numbers back that up. Lyme disease cases in Michigan have increased by 168% over the last five years, with the state recording 1,215 cases in 2024 compared to 452 in 2020. The surge has continued sharply into 2025 — cases jumped by nearly 80% from 2024 to 2025, with more than 2,100 confirmed cases statewide and more than 60 Michigan counties now carrying a known risk for the disease, according to the Michigan Health and Human Services.
Locally, the picture is just as muddy. Benzie-Leelanau District Health Director Joshua Meyerson said there were 76 cases of Lyme disease in Benzie and Leelanau counties last year, along with 30 confirmed cases of anaplasmosis.
“Over the last several years an increase in number of cases reported,” Meyerson said. “We aren’t doing active surveillance and its worse this year than last year. There’s more cases of tick borne illnesses.”
For northern Michigan, the increase in deer and mice populations have resulted in more ticks, as they are favorite hosts for ticks to feed off of.
“The majority of tick bites are okay and humans do not result in disease and pathology,” Szafranski said.
Lyme disease — the most common tick-borne illness in Michigan — is a bacterial infection transmitted from mice and deer to ticks and then to humans through a bite. Anaplasmosis, caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum, is the second most common tick-borne disease in the state, with cases increasing particularly in northern Michigan. Both diseases are transmitted by the blacklegged, or deer, tick. Anaplasmosis cases statewide have seen an almost fivefold increase over the last five years, with 82 cases in 2024 compared to 17 in 2020, according to health and human services. Meyerson reports there was six cases five years ago that has ticked up to roughly 30 by last year.
Less common tick-borne diseases in Michigan include babesiosis and ehrlichiosis, both of which cause symptoms similar to anaplasmosis.
The dominant species in Michigan remains the blacklegged tick, alongside the American dog tick, but the lone star tick is an emerging concern. Alpha-gal syndrome — an emerging food allergy that can cause a reaction to red meat, pork, lamb and other animal products — is caused not by a pathogen but by a sugar molecule in lone star tick saliva that can trigger an antibody response in humans.
The good news is that the lone star tick isn’t established in northern Michigan though it is moving north and has a foothold in several southwestern counties.
The CDC does not currently track alpha-gal syndrome, and neither do local health departments, though both do track Lyme disease and notify health departments upon confirmed cases.
Lyme disease develops early with an illness and a distinctive bullseye rash, along with fevers, body aches and flu-like symptoms.
“It’s important to catch the disease and treat it with course of antibiotics and if it goes undiagnosed for months and years it can develop into more complications with the heart and neurological arthritis and joint issues. Right now we have a good antibiotic, but its important to identify it sooner rather than late,” Szafranski said.
Tick activity peaks in late June through July, though it begins in April and runs into fall. Among the biggest risks are nymphs — ticks in their juvenile stage, roughly the size of a poppy seed — that often go unnoticed and are most likely to transmit Lyme disease in early spring. A tick generally needs to be attached for 36 hours or more before the risk of disease transmission becomes significant.
After a bite, the CDC recommends considering prophylactic treatment if a blacklegged tick has been attached — though not every bite requires medication, particularly if no symptoms appear within a week.
Awareness is increasing alongside the case counts, Szafranski said, and identifying the disease and seeking treatment quickly remains the best course of action. He believes people should continue living their normal lives outdoors, given that disease transmission occurs only in a fraction of tick bites.
“Simply seeing and identifying and knowing what to do,” Szafranski said.
Bug spray containing DEET, long pants when near brush, light-colored clothing and showering after outdoor activity in higher-risk areas are all recommended precautions. Keeping lawns cut and maintaining a clear border between cut grass and the forest edge can also reduce the tick population around a home.
