Study Finds Lyme-Carrying Ticks Next To Beaches And Almost Everywhere

"Disease-carrying ticks, commonly associated with wooded areas, are also abundant near beaches in Northern California, according to a study. They weren’t found on beaches themselves, but in the brush and vegetation beachgoers may walk through to get to the sand.

Daniel Salkeld, a research scientist at Colorado State University who led the study, said researchers wanted a “bird’s-eye view” of where ticks are found in Northern California and what they are infected with, such as bacteria that causes Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.

“We were looking at coastal scrub and looked at redwood forests and oak woodlands and that kind of thing, because everyone tends to look at the same kinds of places,” he said. “And we found ticks pretty much wherever we looked.”

The most surprising finding, Salkeld said, is that the ticks were found in coastal areas."

Paulina Firozi reports for the Washington Post April 25, 2021.

Source: Washington Post, 04/26/2021