July 15, 2025

Ticks are becoming increasingly common across Ontario, particularly during the warmer months from spring through late fall. Blacklegged ticks (also known as deer ticks, refer to Figure 1), which can carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, are now established in many regions of the province, and may be present in campus green spaces, natural trails and research field sites. If visiting an off-campus location, please also the local public health unit’s website (https://www.ontario.ca/page/public-health-unit-locations).

To help protect yourself and others, please review the resources below for important guidance on how to:

• Prevent tick bites by dressing appropriately, using bug spray with DEET or Icaridin, and walking on cleared paths wherever feasible.
• Check yourself, your colleagues when in the field, your children, and pets, if on a leisure walk, for example, on campus, for ticks, and after spending time outdoors
• Remove any tick you find safely (be prepared by packing fine tweezers when in the field). A new electronic tick identification platform is now available in Ontario, where anyone who finds a tick can submit a photo of the tick and receive species identification results within 48 hours.  This free publicly available tick identification platform can be used for ticks found on a person, pet or in the environment.

Early symptoms of Lyme disease can include a ring-like rash that expands outward from the bite (refer to Figure 2). Other symptoms may be flu-like, including fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue. If you develop any symptoms after a tick bite or have any concerns, contact a health care professional immediately.  

Resources:

How to Prevent Tick Bites When Outdoors:

Ontario Ticks & Lyme Disease
Ontario Tick-borne diseases

City of Toronto – Lyme Disease

Public Health Agency of Canada

Video: Steps to properly remove a tick

How to protect yourself from ticks | Ontario Parks

Figure 1: Blacklegged Tick (Deer Tick) 

Image sources: CDC, Niagara Region Public Health, and Halton Region

Figure 2: The appearance of the erythema migrans rash shown on two different skin tones.

Image source: CDC