adult ticks can be active in temperatures as low as 28 degrees F.

[Guest guest]

2 years ago during a warm winter, my son got deer tick bite with positive w

blot in FEBRUARY IN WISCONSIN!

I couldn't believe it. Searched web and found info that indicates in some

areas deer tick seem to be becoming more hardy to cold, lower temp, active

earlier. Also, whenever temps get almost to freeze or above, which means any

sunny day all winter where snow cover is not 100%, ticks will start moving!

So any south facing slope or hillside with no snow on sunny day in winter

could have active ticks. (unfortunately, can't now find links to source for

this info.)

" Deer ticks are among the first ticks to become active in the spring " iowa

public health

" deer ticks don't wait for spring to become active. The larger adult stage

deer ticks that were left over from the fall (didn't find a host) emerge

from under the snow as soon as the ground thaws. They can be active anytime

the temperature is above or even close to freezing as long as the ground is

not frozen or covered with snow. It is common at this time of year for adult

deer ticks to be quite active-they climb up shrubby vegetation about

knee-high and hope to latch on if a host comes by. In NJ, by late

March/early April, you may also begin finding Lone Star tick adults and

adult stage dog ticks. "

http://www.tickencounter.org/FAQ

from the tick identification

laboratory in Penn State's entomology department

s warned that without snow cover, these adult ticks can be active in

temperatures as low as 28 degrees F. " You could be hunting in a place,

sitting on a log -- which actually would be one of the worst places to be --

as the sun comes up and the temperature rises, " s warned. " It could be

30 degrees, and ticks could crawl off that log or from vegetation

surrounding you. You may not think that ticks would be a problem when it's

so cold, but in fact they can be active. "

Hunters also could encounter ticks on any deer they harvest. " Male ticks

will stay with deer over the winter, " said s. " It becomes sort of a

'singles bar' for ticks, with the males waiting for the off-chance of

finding a female hanging around to reproduce with.

" If you find crawling arthropods on the stomach or between the hind legs of

a deer, those are likely to be biting flies or 'deer keds,' which drop their

wings and attach to feed, " he continued. " But if you find what appear to be

ticks around the ears, eyes and neck, there's a good chance they're deer

ticks, which then could crawl onto people or pets. "