An 'aggressive biter': There's a new tick to worry about in Quebec and Ontario

Quebec and Ontario public health bodies are reminding residents that as the snow melts, ticks emerge. In addition to the Lyme disease carrying blacklegged tick, scientists are also concerned about the lone star tick which is being spotted north of its home in the southern United States and Mexico.

As the snow melts, grass grows, and the sun comes out, Montrealers in short pants are not the only species to emerge in the parks and trails of the region.

It is also tick time.

In Quebec, there are about a dozen species of tick of the around 40 in Canada. Of those, around four interact with humans, the most concerning being the blacklegged (deer) tick (Ixodes scapularis) that can carry Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria).

"Ticks, and the blacklegged tick that everyone is talking about, do very much like humidity, cool weather, so as soon as there's no more snow cover on the ground, they will begin their activity," said Bishop's University professor Jade Savage, who runs the website eTick, which monitors tick activity across the country.

A new species that public health authorities are monitoring with concern is the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum), which has been spotted but is not yet established north of the U.S. border.

Climate change and habitat loss are making it almost inevitable that the arthropods that typically live in the southeastern United States and Mexico will show up more often in Canada.

"Everybody knows that the lone star tick is slowly moving northward, a little like what we saw with the blacklegged tick almost 30 years ago," said Savage. "The lone star tick is expected by many to be the next step primarily because we're getting warmer winters."