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| Life Cycle of Lime Disease Ticks Extracts from CDC Brochure*: *CDC is the Center for Disease Control, USA; the link no longer works (2026)Knowing the complex life cycle of the ticks that transmit Lyme disease bacteria can help in understanding the risk of getting the disease and how to prevent it.The complete life cycle of Ixodes ticks requires 2 years.  Tick eggs are laid in the spring, and hatch as larvae in the summer.
Larvae feed on mice, birds, and other small animals in the summer and early fall. The larvae may become infected with Lyme disease bacteria when feeding on these animals. Once a tick becomes infected, it stays infected for the rest of its life and can transmit the bacteria to other hosts. After this initial feeding, the larvae usually become inactive until the following spring, when they change into nymphs. Nymphs seek blood meals in order to fuel their growth into adults. Nymphs feed on small rodents, birds, and other small mammals in late spring and early summer. Nymphs will also feed on humans, and if previously infected with Lyme disease bacteria, they can transmit the disease to humans. Nymphs molt into adult ticks in the fall. In the fall and early spring, adult ticks feed and mate on large animals, such as deer. Adult female ticks will sometimes also feed on humans. In spring, adult female ticks lay their eggs on the ground, completing the 2-year life cycle. |
“Most humans are infected through the bites of immature ticks called nymphs. Nymphs are tiny (less than 2 mm) and difficult to see; they feed during the spring and summer months. Adult ticks can also transmit Lyme disease bacteria, but they are much larger and may be more likely to be discovered and removed before they have had time to transmit the bacteria. Adult Ixodes ticks are most active during the cooler months of the year.” -CDC Lyme disease transmission – CDC Lyme disease transmission (doc no longer posted, 2026)
Invasion of the ticks: Watch their remarkably fast spread across Canada
By Mason Kossak for Saltwire June 8, 2026
“Three Canadian experts give their take on the current tick problem in Canada, how to avoid the insects and what happens when one bites you…Ticks are pushing farther across Canada every year, and the diseases they carry are coming with them. Reported Lyme disease cases climbed from 522 in 2014 to 5,239 in 2024, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. National Post reached out to three experts for more information on where ticks are spreading, why and how to stay safe. Manisha Kulkarni is a professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Epidemiology and Public Health. Virginie Millien is a biologist at McGill University. Luis Anholeto is a lab manager at the Canadian Tick Research and Innovation Centre at Acadia University…
How do people avoid getting bitten?
Kulkarni: People can avoid tick bites by staying on the trails in wooded areas where ticks live, and by wearing long clothing, using insect repellent that contains DEET or icaridin, or wearing permethrin-treated clothing.
Anholeto: Wear light-coloured clothing, it makes ticks easier to spot, and tuck your pants into your socks. After being outdoors, do a full-body tick check, paying special attention to under the arms, behind the knees, the waist, the groin and the scalp. Also, check children and pets.
If someone finds a tick on them, what should they do?
Anholeto: Stay calm, finding a tick early is actually good news. Ticks need to remain attached for hours before transmitting the bacteria. Use clean, fine-point tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull upward with slow, steady pressure. Do not twist or squeeze the tick.
What’s the biggest misconception about ticks or Lyme disease you’d want to clear up?
Anholeto: I have been seeing posts on social media lately about the lone star tick in Canada. This tick is associated with alpha-gal syndrome, the so-called red meat allergy from a tick bite. It’s a real condition, but the risk of locally acquired alpha-gal syndrome in Canada is low because the primary tick responsible, the lone star tick, is not established here. Right now, if you get bitten by a tick in Canada, the realistic threats are Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan virus. Be wary of misinformation.
Anything else Canadians should know heading into summer?
Millien: They’re not that scary. The problem is that we become too comfortable. We need to be reminded, stay on the trail or wear long pants and then the tick check. It’s just a tweezer and 90 degree pull out straight, because you don’t want to leave the head in there.”
On Tick-repellant clothing
I wear tick-repellant clothing when I figure on the basis of habitat, area and season that I could be highly exposed to lyme-carrying ticks.
I made this pic a few years back (circa 2014) with the comment “4 reasons for cross-border shopping” – this clothing was not then available in Canada. It is now, e.g. at Marks, but in 2026 the PMRA has still not registered (allowed for sale) products that enable users to treat their own clothing. Read some of the sad history of the PMRA’s reluctance to register anti-tick products at https://versicolor.ca/noticks/ – david p
Page posted June 9, 2026