Rising Tick-Borne Disease Risks Threaten Northeast Farmers

By Blake Jackson

Finding a single tick can be unsettling due to the serious diseases they carry, but for some farmers, encountering more than 10 ticks in a single month has become a reality.

New research involving experts from Binghamton University, State University of New York, shows that farmers and outdoor workers in the Northeast are facing an increasing risk from tick-borne diseases.

The study, led by Mandy Roome, associate director of the Tick-borne Disease Center at Binghamton University, highlights how expanding tick populations could threaten both health and farm operations. Ticks are spreading rapidly across the United States, and farmers are especially vulnerable because they spend long hours working outdoors in prime tick habitats.

“Not much has been done in the Northeast United States with outdoor workers and tick-borne diseases since the early 90s,” said Roome. “Ticks and tick-borne diseases were a very different risk in the early 90s than they are now. We wanted to figure out how we can help some of our most vulnerable workers.”

Researchers surveyed 53 individuals from 46 farms in southern Vermont, a region selected for its high Lyme disease rates, extensive agriculture, and suitable tick environments. The questionnaire covered tick encounters, prevention methods, farm tasks, and health history.

“As you would imagine, tick encounters are generally higher than what we see for ourselves,” said Roome. “Some of them, especially if they’re doing something like fence repair in the spring, they’re inundated with ticks, unfortunately.”

The findings showed that 12% of participants had been diagnosed with a tick-borne disease, with some reporting as many as 70 tick encounters over six months. One farmer contracted Lyme carditis and required open-heart surgery.

“These are the things that we would like to prevent,” said Roome. “For anybody that’s detrimental. But especially for a farmer, not being able to do that work can have massive consequences on the whole farm.”

To address the issue, researchers are testing tick control tubes that target mice, the primary carriers of tick-borne pathogens.

“We’re trying to identify something effective and easy for farmers to do,” said Roome. “Any outdoor worker, you’re in tick habitat. So ‘avoid tick habitats’ is really not the solution for them.”

Photo Credit: gettyimages-erikkarits