Blacklegged ticks — commonly known as deer ticks, the ones that can transmit Lyme disease — have become increasingly common in Northeastern Wisconsin over the past decade.
The number of confirmed cases of Lyme disease in Brown County has ranged between 50 and 100 or more in recent years, and statewide, positive cases have doubled the past 15 years.
Not only have tick numbers and infections been climbing, tick detection now through July can be difficult without extreme vigilance. That’s because the eight-legged hitchhikers are very tiny in the nymphal stage. How small? The gold standard comparison used by entomologists is a single poppy seed!
Department of Natural Resources Forest Health Specialist Michael Hillstrom said up to 40% of nymphs could be infected with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. However, unless you send in a tick for testing at your own expense, you won’t know if it is or not.
That makes prevention or early detection critical.
To reduce exposure to ticks, avoid tall grass and brush areas. Experts recommend you wear long sleeves and pants, and use an insect repellent with ingredients such as DEET, Picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Clothing can also be treated with permethrin. Recent research found that lemon eucalyptus oil was also an effective repellent of both blacklegged ticks and American dog ticks on various fabrics. Permethrin kills on contact, so a repelling essential oil product is a useful addition to preventative measures, Hillstrom said.
After time in woodlands and fields, do a thorough tick check. Spend extra time on the lower body, because nymphs — think a poppy seed or a coarse speck of ground pepper — usually get on by the feet and are easy to miss below the waist. Shower within two hours of coming indoors and put clothes in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any ticks that you may have picked up while outdoors.
If you do find one attached, rapid removal is important. It takes at least 24 hours for the Lyme bacteria to spread.
Because tick testing doesn’t yield a medical diagnosis, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Center for Disease Control both recommend monitoring for symptoms and contacting your healthcare provider immediately if you develop a rash or fever. Learn more at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/tick/lyme.htm.
Other early signs of infection often include chills, headache, fatigue and muscle and joint aches. Swollen lymph nodes may occur in the absence of a rash. Left untreated, Lyme can produce a wide range of symptoms, some of them severe. (See the full list at https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs-symptoms/index.html).
An excellent resource for more information is the UW-Madison Tick and Tick-Borne Diseases webpage at https://wisconsin-ticks.russell.wisc.edu/. You can also download the free app at https://wisconsin-ticks.russell.wisc.edu/the-tickapp/. Finally, find out more about both tick and mosquito bite prevention at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/fight-bite/index.htm.
Record fish run
More than one million rainbow trout stocked by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 2022 — the most in nearly four decades — could be a big part of the reason Lake Michigan tributary stream anglers enjoyed the best action in a generation or two this spring.
Commonly known as steelhead, these colorful chromers are typically stocked as yearlings. They then spend a few years in Lake Michigan gorging on insects, alewives and gobies before returning to the rivers and creeks where they were planted. Unlike salmon, which die after spawning, trout that aren’t caught by anglers can spawn multiple times.
About half of the fish stocked in ’22 were small fingerlings released in fall from that spring’s egg-take. The DNR provided those to try to make up for falling about 170,000 fingerlings short of its Chinook salmon stocking goal that spring.
If this year’s run is any indication, the fall of ’22 bonus fish seemed to have survived quite well. Flooding rains enabled fish to make it miles upstream on even the smallest creeks, and crews handled a record 5,410 steelhead at the Besadny Anadromous Fisheries Facility near Kewaunee.
Free fun weekend
Wisconsin’s annual free fun weekend — with no fishing licenses or stamps required, and no admission stickers or trail passes needed for state parks and state trails — is June 6-7.
Residents and nonresidents age 16 and up won’t need licenses or stamps to fish. Fishing is always free for those age 15 and under.
Rustic Roads Guide
The 2026 Rustic Roads Guide, showcasing Wisconsin’s 126 unique Rustic Roads and five Scenic Byways, is now available. Order a free copy online at https://www.travelwisconsin.com/order-guides or call 1-800-432-8747.
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