If you live in Michigan and spend any time outdoors — hiking, letting your kids play in the backyard, or walking your dog — the numbers out of the state health department this spring should have your full attention.
Lyme disease cases in Michigan jumped from 553 confirmed cases in 2022 to 2,167 in 2025, according to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. That's nearly a fourfold increase in three years. And in the first few months of 2026 alone — when ticks are typically dormant — Michigan had already recorded 246 possible new cases.
For the first time, Michigan now falls into what the CDC classifies as a "high-incidence jurisdiction": a state reporting more than 10 confirmed Lyme cases per 100,000 people for three consecutive years. In 2025, Michigan reported 18.83 cases per 100,000 population.
This is not a slow-moving trend. It is happening now, and it's happening where people live.
Why Is Lyme Disease Surging in Michigan?
The explanation, according to Jean Tsao, a professor and disease ecologist specializing in tick-borne diseases at Michigan State University, is straightforward: ticks are moving into the places where people are.
"The ticks have spread," Tsao told the Detroit Free Press. "Their populations are exploding in places where it is more populous with people. We're seeing a steep increase in the abundance of ticks in much of southern Michigan, and that's where the most people live."
Warmer winters are compounding the problem. Tsao noted that ticks remain active well beyond what Michiganders might expect: "Our winters are shorter and so the ticks have been active. The students in my lab were collecting ticks the first week of January. The adults will come out any time it is about 32, 35, 38 degrees."
The practical implication: tick season in Michigan is no longer a spring-through-fall concern. It is effectively year-round.
What Are the Symptoms of Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, carried primarily by the black-legged tick (also known as the deer tick). After a bite, it can take three to 30 days for symptoms to appear. According to the CDC, early symptoms include:
- Fever and chills
- Headache and fatigue
- Muscle and joint aches
- Swollen lymph nodes
- An erythema migrans (EM) rash, which occurs in 70% to 80% of infected people — often appearing as a bull's-eye pattern at the site of the bite
Left untreated, Lyme disease can progress to affect the joints, heart, and nervous system, causing severe headaches, facial palsy, arthritis, heart palpitations, and nerve pain.
Michigan ticks can also carry other illnesses. Linda Lobes, president of the Michigan Lyme Disease Association, notes that some ticks carry bacteria associated with anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and other diseases. And cases of alpha-gal syndrome — a serious red meat allergy transmitted by lone star tick bites — are also on the rise in Michigan.
What to Do If You Find a Tick
The most important thing you can do after any outdoor activity in Michigan is check for ticks — and remove them quickly if found.
"Pull them off sooner rather than later. It reduces the chance you will get infected," said Tsao. "The shorter time it feeds, the lower the risk of infection."
Lobes, who contracted Lyme disease herself in 1989, is emphatic about what not to do: "If a tick gets agitated while it's attached, it regurgitates. If that tick is irritated, its stomach contents will now potentially be inside of you and that puts people at higher risk of infection if the tick is carrying disease."
That means avoiding home remedies like nail polish, gasoline, petroleum jelly, or a match flame entirely.
The right approach: use fine-point tweezers and get as close to the skin as possible. "It might take two or three times — sometimes even four pulls. Just keep tugging. You don't want to squeeze the tick. Keep tugging, and it will let loose," said Lobes.
After removal, place the tick in a sealed plastic bag. Michigan's state health department offers tick identification based on photos at no cost — email a photo to MDHHS-Bugs@michigan.gov. The Michigan Lyme Disease Association can also help connect you with tick testing resources at mlda.org.
Monitor for symptoms — rash, fatigue, fever, headache, muscle pain, or joint swelling — within 30 days of any tick bite.
The Chemical-Free Tool Michigan Families Are Using
TiCK MiTT was built by a family with firsthand experience of tick-borne illness — developed with a tick scientist and product engineer to create a fabric that removes ticks safely in seconds. No chemicals. No toxins. Safe for kids and pets.
As Tsao and Lobes both make clear, quick and correct removal is one of the most effective defenses against Lyme disease. TiCK MiTT is designed to make that removal fast, safe, and accessible — for parents checking their kids, dog owners checking their pets, and anyone spending time outdoors in Michigan this season.
Available at Petco, Bass Pro Shops, and tickmitt.com.
Sources: Detroit Free Press; Click On Detroit; CDC Lyme Disease Surveillance Data
