Dill speaks to News Center Maine about deer tick season

Griffin Dill, director of the University of Maine Tick Lab, was interviewed by News Center Maine about precautions Mainers should take during the fall during peak tick season. Dill said the number of deer ticks will increase over the next several weeks and will continue until temperatures drop below freezing for an extended period of time, which in recent years has been mid-to-late December. “They are looking for that third and final host and get their last blood meal, lay eggs, and reproduce. The drought didn’t seem to alter their behavior too much. With those drought conditions, does it change the questing behavior with the ticks to make them more nocturnal?” Dill said.