US north-east sees record tick season as climate crisis sparks arachnid boom

A photo provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a blacklegged tick, also known as a deer tick, a carrier of Lyme disease. Photograph: James Gathany/AP

Ticks have been flourishing recently in the United States.

This year, as compared to recent years, there has been an increase in the reported number of blacklegged ticks, the number of such ticks that carry Lyme disease and visits to the emergency room because of bites from the tiny parasitic arachnid, according to data from universities and the US federal government.