Wisconsin deer ticks – the type known for carrying Lyme disease – are widely associated with the Northwoods. But now, they occupy a much larger territory.
In 1994, a deer tick “census” led by Dr. Susan Paskewitz, a UW-Madison Entomologist who specializes in mosquitoes and ticks, revealed the ticks had become established in the western two-thirds of the state. Since then, reports of Lyme disease and new infestations led Paskewitz to suspect that they had become prevalent throughout Wisconsin.