Tick Season in Virginia: Peak Months, Dangerous Species, and Prevention Guide

Virginia ranks among the states with the highest rates of tick bites in the country — and if you spend time outdoors here, that’s something you need to take seriously. Ticks are active year-round in Virginia, even during mild winters, and twelve different tick-borne diseases are currently circulating in the state. That means a hike through the Shenandoah, a backyard barbecue, or even a walk with your dog can put you in contact with these tiny but potentially dangerous parasites.

Ticks have become common in Virginia and can be active on warm days at all times of the year for a variety of reasons, including suburbanization, the abundance of deer in suburban forests, as well as climate change and land development. Understanding when tick season peaks, which species are present, and how to protect yourself makes a real difference in your health and peace of mind.

Key Insight: Virginia is considered a high-incidence state for tick-borne disease. Virginia is ranked the tenth highest state for Lyme disease in the United States as of 2024.

When Is Tick Season in Virginia

Ticks can be encountered throughout the year, but Virginia tick season is generally in spring and summer. However, the window of risk is broader than many people expect. It is important to be extra vigilant from March through October when ticks are most active, and people spend more time outdoors.

Tick season generally begins in March, peaks in May, and starts going down significantly in August, so all of the summer season has a higher risk of getting tick bites. That said, certain species remain active well beyond the warm months. Blacklegged ticks, which potentially transmit Lyme disease, are also active on warm winter days when the temperature is greater than 40°F.

The life stage of a tick also affects when it poses the greatest risk to you. From April through July, nymphs are actively looking for hosts in the environment, and in early spring and fall seasons, adults are most active. Nymphal ticks pose a particularly high risk due to their abundance and small size — about the size of a poppy seed — which makes them difficult to spot.

Important Note: The risk of human infection with pathogens is highest in the late spring and summer, when nymphs are most dominant. Don’t assume you’re safe just because summer is winding down.

Health experts say global warming is having a destructive effect: deer tick season has become a year-round event. In Virginia, deer ticks have been making an early appearance as well, before their typical spring debut. This trend means you should stay alert regardless of the calendar month, especially during any stretch of mild weather.

If you enjoy outdoor activities in Virginia — whether that’s trout fishing or dove hunting — building tick awareness into every outing is essential during the warmer months and beyond.

Types of Ticks Found in Virginia

Virginia is a mixing bowl of tick species and the pathogens they transmit, including the most famous, Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria associated with Lyme disease. Several species are commonly encountered, and each carries its own set of risks.

Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum)
The lone star tick — found throughout the mid-Atlantic — is the most common biting tick in Virginia and is host to an increasing number of bacteria, including the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other maladies that cause symptoms similar to Lyme disease. They are large, reddish-brown, round ticks that feed on many different species of mammals. Females have a distinctive white spot on their back. All three active life stages will readily bite people, and they can be very aggressive and fast-moving in their pursuit of a blood meal. They can transmit ehrlichiosis, tularemia, and STARI (Southern Tick-Associated Illness), and have additionally been implicated in the development of a serious red meat allergy.

Blacklegged Tick / Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis)
Deer ticks are oblong, with darkly colored legs. Females have a reddish abdomen, while nymphs and males are darkly colored. Their preferred hosts are white-footed mice and other small rodents, and white-tailed deer, but nymphs and adults will also bite people. This is the primary carrier of Lyme disease in Virginia. Black-legged ticks and Lyme infection have steadily become more common in Virginia counties along the Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay, and Atlantic Ocean.

American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis)
The American dog tick is a familiar species to pet owners across Virginia. The American dog tick transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Virginia and is now reported under Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis (SFR). Adult females are most likely to bite humans, with the highest risk occurring during spring and summer. To better understand how ticks reproduce and why populations can grow so quickly, it helps to know that each species follows a multi-year life cycle tied closely to host availability.

Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum)
Gulf Coast ticks are a newly discovered import to Virginia and their prevalence is still being mapped out. They are similar in appearance to dog ticks and can transmit American tick bite fever, as well as a Rickettsia bacterium that causes symptoms similar to those seen in Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Pro Tip: The Virginia Department of Health offers a free tick identification chart to help you identify any tick that bites you. Knowing the species can help your doctor make faster, more accurate treatment decisions.

Asian Longhorned Tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis)
Longhorned ticks have been found in Virginia as of April 2024. Not normally found in the Western Hemisphere, these ticks were reported for the first time in the United States in 2017. Their full public health impact in Virginia is still being studied, but their presence adds another reason to stay vigilant.

Tick-Borne Diseases in Virginia

Virginia is a high-incidence state for several of the most common tick-borne diseases in the United States. As ticks increase and spread geographically, it is essential to know about the different tick-borne diseases in the region, including common signs and symptoms. Early diagnosis can mean saving a life or preventing chronic and disabling conditions.

Here is an overview of the key tick-borne diseases you should be aware of in Virginia:

Lyme disease is the most common disease caused by ticks in Virginia and the United States. For the last 10 years, Virginia has reported over 1,000 cases each year. The CDC estimated that the actual number may be 10 times greater.

About 5–10% of RMSF cases are fatal, with children under 10 representing the highest number of reported deaths. Early signs and symptoms include fever and headaches, and a rash may develop within a few days after the fever begins. Nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, muscle pain, and lack of appetite may also occur.

Alpha-gal Syndrome (AGS) is a tick-bite-induced allergy to red or mammalian meat, and people with AGS can be triggered by hundreds of mammalian meat products and byproducts. AGS is common in Virginia and is transmitted by the Lone Star tick. It has also been found in blacklegged ticks.

Important Note: If you start to notice a week or two after a tick bite that you’re having any kind of unusual fatigue or joint pain, or any kind of neurologic symptoms like memory loss or brain fog, contact your doctor. Tick-borne illness symptoms can resemble the flu without respiratory symptoms.

For more detail on one of the most serious tick-transmitted illnesses, you can read about tick-borne encephalitis and how it differs from the diseases most commonly seen in Virginia. You can also learn more about animals that eat ticks, which play a natural role in controlling tick populations.

High-Risk Areas and Habitats in Virginia

You don’t have to venture deep into the wilderness to encounter ticks. Ticks live in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas, or even on animals. Spending time outside walking your dog, camping, gardening, fishing, or hunting could bring you in close contact with ticks. Many people get ticks in their own yard or neighborhood.

Certain parts of Virginia carry a higher overall risk. According to the Virginia Department of Health, the northern counties in the state report the highest density of ticks. Black-legged ticks and Lyme infection have steadily become more common in Virginia counties along the Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay, and Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, the Eastern Shore has reported the greatest number of babesiosis cases in Virginia.

Man-made habitat alterations and climate change are culprits in the complicated ecological equation that has ticks spreading south and west from New England and north from the Gulf States. Ticks are on the move in the mid-Atlantic, and Virginia is in the direct center of these waves.

Specific habitats to watch out for include:

• Wooded trails and forests: Blacklegged ticks and Lone Star ticks carry diseases in Virginia. They live in the forest leaf litter or in shaded, grassy areas.
• Tall grass and brush edges: Some ticks pick a place to wait by identifying well-used paths. Then they wait for a host, resting on the tips of grasses and shrubs. Other ticks will wait in the leaf litter on the ground for an animal or person that might walk by.
• Suburban backyards near wooded areas: Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) offers the ideal habitat for ticks and their rodent hosts. The barberry can blanket the forest floor and provide shelter and protection for rodents and life-giving moisture for ticks. Deer don’t eat much barberry, making the ecosystem ripe for tick explosion.
• Wildlife corridors and parks: Areas with high deer populations significantly increase tick density. Current computer reconstruction models provide a pre-hunt season population estimate of 850,000 to 1 million deer in Virginia, and deer are a primary host for blacklegged ticks.

Pro Tip: Ticks can’t fly or jump, but many tick species wait in a position known as “questing.” While questing, ticks hold onto leaves and grass by their third and fourth pair of legs, holding the first pair outstretched, waiting to climb onto a host. When a host brushes the spot where a tick is waiting, it quickly climbs aboard.

Outdoor enthusiasts in Virginia — including those who enjoy hunting in neighboring West Virginia or fishing in its streams — should apply the same tick awareness practices across state lines, as tick populations and risks are similar throughout the region.

How to Protect Yourself, Children, and Pets During Tick Season in Virginia

The good news is that most tick bites and tick-borne illnesses are preventable with consistent, practical habits. Layering multiple prevention strategies gives you the strongest protection.

Before You Go Outside

• When outdoors, wear long-sleeved shirts, closed-toe shoes, and long pants if possible. Lighter-colored clothes make it easier to spot ticks.
• Use CDC-recommended active ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE) or para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone.
• Pants, shoes, and socks can also be treated with permethrin, an insecticide safe for use on clothing worn by people. Carefully follow label instructions on permethrin when treating clothing. Permethrin should not be directly applied to the skin.
• Ticks do not climb high on vegetation, so they must hitch a ride by first climbing up your shoes or socks. Tuck your pants legs into your socks to help prevent ticks from climbing up your bare leg under your pants.

While Outdoors

• If you are walking through parks or wooded areas, walk through the center of hiking trails and pathways.
• Avoid sitting directly on the ground, logs, or leaf piles in wooded areas.
• Keep your lawn mowed, and if you’re next to a wooded area, maintain a mowed or even a gravel barrier.

After Coming Indoors

1. Shower within two hours of coming indoors. Showering has been shown to reduce your risk of getting Lyme disease and may be effective in reducing the risk of other tick-borne diseases. It may also help wash off unattached ticks and is a good opportunity to do a tick check.
2. Use a mirror, friend, partner, or spouse to help check your body for ticks. Remember to check in armpits, groin area, ears, hairline, belly button, knees, and legs.
3. Tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing after you come indoors.
4. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine animals, coats, and backpacks.

Protecting Children

Do not use repellent on babies younger than 2 months old. Do not use products containing OLE or PMD on children under 3 years old. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children’s insect repellent has less than 30% DEET. Always apply repellent for your children yourself — don’t let young kids apply it on their own, especially near the eyes and mouth.

Protecting Pets

Pets can also get sick from tick bites, as well as carry them in and out of the house. Dogs are susceptible to Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, and their dense fur can make it difficult to conduct a full inspection. Talk to your veterinarian about tick prevention products for your dog or cat. You can also review tips for preventing tick-borne diseases in your dog to build a solid year-round protection routine for your pet.

Common Mistake: There are many inappropriate home remedies that have cropped up for tick removal. Do not burn the tick, cover it with petroleum jelly, or paint it with nail polish. These will only stress the tick out and may encourage it to empty the contents of its stomach into the bite wound, potentially increasing disease transmission.

What to Do If You Find a Tick in Virginia

Finding a tick on yourself, your child, or your pet is understandably alarming — but staying calm and acting quickly is the most important thing you can do. The CDC recommends removing ticks as soon as possible in order to avoid infection. Your risk for Lyme disease is very low if a tick has been attached for fewer than 24 hours.

How to Remove a Tick Safely

1. Use fine-tipped tweezers or shield your fingers with a tissue, paper towel, or rubber gloves when removing the tick. Grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible and pull upward with steady, even pressure.
2. Do NOT twist or jerk the tick, as this may cause the mouthparts to break off and remain in the skin. Do NOT squeeze, crush, or puncture the body of the tick because its fluids may contain infectious organisms.
3. After removing the tick, thoroughly disinfect the bite site and wash your hands with soap and water.
4. Save the tick in a bag or container with rubbing alcohol for identification in case an illness develops in the days to weeks following the bite.

What to Watch for After a Tick Bite

The bullseye-shaped rash is the classic visual cue for a tick bite, but a more common visual sign is a two-inch, uniformly red, well-demarcated, circular lesion — like a red, uniform rash with a sharp border around it. Keep in mind that as low as 30% of Lyme patients actually develop a bullseye rash, so don’t rely on it as your only indicator.

The most important thing to know after a tick bite is how long the tick was on you. In most cases, a tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted. If you remove a tick quickly — within 24 hours — you can greatly reduce your chances of getting Lyme disease.

Pro Tip: Use the VDH tick identification chart to identify the tick that bit you. It can be helpful to identify any tick that bites you so that if you get sick, you and your care providers have more information.

If you develop a rash or fever within weeks of a tick removal, you should visit your doctor and inform them of the bite, when it happened, and where you likely picked up the tick. Don’t wait to see if symptoms resolve on their own — tick-borne illnesses respond much better to early treatment.

Reporting Tick Bites and Tick-Borne Illness in Virginia

Virginia has a strong public health infrastructure to help track and respond to tick-borne disease, and you can be an active part of that system. Reporting your tick bite and submitting the tick itself helps health officials understand where ticks are spreading and which pathogens they’re carrying.

Submit a Tick to VDH

If you’ve been bitten by a tick in Virginia, you may send it to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) for identification and information about diseases associated with that type of tick. The Virginia Tick Survey is a free service of VDH. You can also submit a photo of the tick if you no longer have the physical specimen.

Monitor Your Health and Report Illness

Several tick-borne diseases are reportable in Virginia. For more information about disease reporting, please visit VDH Disease Reporting and Control Regulations. Questions about disease reporting should be directed to your local health department.

If you start feeling sick or develop symptoms like a rash or fever a few days or weeks after a tick bite, make sure to tell your medical provider that you were bitten by a tick. This context is critical — it helps your doctor consider tick-borne illness in their diagnosis and start treatment quickly.

Track Disease Data

For information on the number of tick-related illness cases in Virginia, visit the Virginia Reportable Disease Surveillance Dashboard. This tool provides county-level data so you can understand the risk profile in your specific area of the state.

Key Insight: Up to half of all people bitten by a tick do not remember being bitten. If you develop unexplained flu-like symptoms after spending time outdoors during tick season, mention it to your healthcare provider even if you never noticed a tick.

Tick-borne diseases pose a significant and growing public health issue. From 2000 to 2020, Lyme disease cases reported annually in Virginia residents increased almost six-fold. Reporting bites and illness helps Virginia health officials stay ahead of this trend and protect communities across the state.

Whether you’re a hiker, gardener, hunter, or simply a Virginia resident who enjoys being outside, staying informed is your most powerful tool. Know your tick season, recognize the species, and take prevention seriously every time you step outdoors. If you enjoy outdoor pursuits that take you into tick country — from goose hunting in Maryland to outdoor recreation across the mid-Atlantic — the same protective habits apply wherever you roam.