If you've found a tick or have been bitten, the first step is proper removal. The Inter-Island Public Health Excellence Collaborative and the CDC both have clear, up-to-date guidance on how to remove a tick safely and what to watch for in the days that follow. For personal medical questions after a tick exposure: Reach out to your primary care provider or one of the Island's local medical practices. Martha's Vineyard Hospital (part of Mass General Brigham) — including their Express Care and Tick Clinic — Martha's Vineyard Medical (home of The Tick Center), and Island Health Care are all excellent starting points. For epidemiological questions: (Disease trends, Surveillance data, Population-level Impact...) Dukes County's contract epidemiologist, Lea Hamner, is a great local resource. Reach her directly at lhamner@oakbluffsma.gov. ‍ Please know that Tick Free MV is focused on island-wide tick population reduction, we cannot provide personal medical advice.

Dogs, cats, horses, and livestock are susceptible to the same tick-borne infections as humans, which can cause severe symptoms if left untreated. On the Vineyard, this risk exists year-round. Talk to your veterinarian or visit Veterinary Partner Online for detailed information on tick-borne diseases, prevention, and the symptoms to look for in your pets. Alpha-gal Syndrome and Animals Alpha-gal Syndrome does not affect animals. Because all four-legged mammals naturally carry Alpha-gal in their cells, they cannot develop an allergic reaction to it — unlike humans, who do not naturally carry it.

May and June are the peak months, with all species and multiple life stages active simultaneously. No month is completely tick-free, but spring through fall brings more species and more life stages out at once. As IIPHEC puts it: if you're putting on sunscreen, you should be thinking about ticks too. Tick Activity by Species Deer Tick — Active year-round, peaking in the cooler seasons from fall through spring. Active above 40°F, even in winter. Lone Star Tick — Warm-season. Adults peak in May and June, nymphs through September, larvae into October. American Dog Tick — Warm-season, active roughly March through September. Longhorned Tick — Warm-season in its native Asia; local seasonality on the Vineyard is still being studied. For more information, visit the Inter-Island Public Health Excellence Collaborative and the MV Tick Program, including their MV Tick Talk Presentations and tick-borne illness resources.

Four tick species have been found on Martha's Vineyard. Here's what you need to know about each. Deer tick (Ixodes scapularis, also called the black-legged tick) The deer tick is the primary concern on Martha's Vineyard. It can transmit Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, Borrelia miyamotoi, and Powassan virus. Deer ticks prefer shady, moist environments — leaf litter, low vegetation, and the edges where lawns meet the woods. Lone Star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) Lone star ticks are the main driver of Alpha-gal Syndrome, an allergy to red meat and other mammalian products. On Martha's Vineyard, they can also carry tularemia, ehrlichiosis, and STARI. Lone star ticks are hardy, adaptable, and can be found across a wide range of Vineyard habitats. American Dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis) American dog ticks can transmit tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. They're most commonly found in tall grasses, including dune grasses and meadows. Longhorned Tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) Longhorned ticks are relatively new to Martha's Vineyard, first detected in 2023 and still rare as of 2026. In their native range in Asia, they can transmit diseases to humans, but those pathogens are not present in the United States — so the risk to humans here is currently low. Longhorned ticks do pose a risk to livestock and can transmit Theileria orientalis Ikeda. ‍

The Martha’s Vineyard Tick Program and tick ecology researchers explicitly link these six factors to our crisis: 1. Decline in Hunting Deer and turkey were once heavily hunted for food, keeping host populations in check. As hunting has declined over recent decades, host populations have grown unchecked. The removal of large native predators like wolves has compounded this further, allowing prey populations to expand without natural limits. 2. Tick Abundance Driven by Deer Abundance Tick populations grow in direct proportion to host populations. Adult female deer ticks overwhelmingly prefer deer for their final blood meal, during which they also mate and reproduce. A single female deer tick lays approximately 2,000 eggs; lone star tick females can lay 3,000-5,000. One study found a single deer harboring 200 adults, 500 nymphs, and 1,500 lone star tick larvae during peak season. More deer means more ticks. 3. Historical Land Use Change Martha's Vineyard was once predominantly pastures and meadows. As agriculture declined, forests reclaimed the land, creating ideal habitat for deer ticks, lone star ticks, and the animals that host them — deer, turkey, mice, skunks, and raccoons. More suitable habitat means more hosts, and more hosts mean more ticks. 4. Suburban Development and Seasonal Population Growth Development in suburban and rural communities fragments habitat into edge habitat, which creates forage and cover for tick hosts. This concentrates higher tick densities in areas of greater human activity. At the same time, the island's summer population surges between April through September, coinciding exactly with peak tick activity season — putting more people in contact with more ticks. 5. Globalization and Invasive Species As people, pets, livestock, and goods move across the country and world, ticks can hitch a ride. Lone star ticks were first documented in established populations on Chappaquiddick in 2011. Whether they arrived via migratory birds or traveling animals, once introduced to an island with abundant hosts, invasive tick species can quickly take hold. 6. Climate Change Martha's Vineyard is growing warmer and wetter. Ticks thrive in warm, moist conditions, and a warming climate extends the season during which they actively seek a host. A longer active season means more opportunities to feed, complete their life cycle, and reproduce.

Massachusetts law allows hunting on private land by default if the land is not posted. The responsibility falls on the landowner to clearly demarcate the boundaries of their land with fencing, signage, or similar if they do not want to grant hunters unfettered access. Owners of posted land can still grant written permission to individual hunters through a MassWildlife Landowner/Land User Agreement Card. Separate from this blanket state regulation, individual municipalities can enact bylaws further restricting hunting operations. The six towns on Martha’s Vineyard have varying regulations around hunting: Aquinnah State law applies. Written permission is not legally required but is strongly recommended. Provide hunters with a signed agreement card and clearly communicate your property boundaries. Chilmark Written permission is required by town bylaw. No person may discharge a firearm or release an arrow on private property without the written consent of the owner or occupant. A signed MassWildlife Agreement Card satisfies this requirement. Hunters must carry it on their person. Edgartown State law applies. No town-wide written permission bylaw is currently in effect. However, written permission is required any time a hunter needs to discharge a firearm within 500 feet of an occupied dwelling. Using a MassWildlife Agreement Card is strongly recommended. Oak Bluffs Due to the town's density, the state's 500-foot setback from occupied dwellings covers most huntable land in Oak Bluffs, meaning written landowner permission is effectively required in nearly all cases. Tisbury State law applies to private property. Provide hunters with a signed MassWildlife Agreement Card. If your property abuts town-owned public land, hunters wishing to access those parcels must submit a separate "Request to Hunt on Public Property" application to the Board of Selectmen. West Tisbury Written permission is required by town bylaw. Hunters must have written consent from the owner, owner's agent, or legal occupant before discharging any firearm on private property, and must carry and produce that permission on demand. A signed MassWildlife Agreement Card satisfies this requirement.

A Deer Damage Permit (DDP) is a tool that allows landowners to remove deer on their property outside standard hunting seasons. DDPs are one of the most effective tools available for reducing deer density on Martha's Vineyard. Because standard hunting seasons are limited in scope and timing, DDPs allow eligible landowners to authorize deer removal on their property year-round, making sustained population management possible. Who Can Apply DDPs are designed for landowners, not individual hunters. Eligible applicants include: Working farmers Conservation organizations and land trusts (such as the Land Bank or Sheriff's Meadow Foundation) Private estate owners with significant agricultural or horticultural activity, including large gardens, orchards, or golf courses How to Apply The application process is managed by MassWildlife and begins with a direct consultation. For full details on eligibility, the application process, and permit conditions, visit MassWildlife's Agricultural Damage from Wildlife page.

Hunting is one of the most effective and time-tested tools for managing deer populations, and Martha's Vineyard has a strong local hunting community with resources for anyone looking to get involved or learn more. MassWildlife has Island-specific information on deer hunting regulations and opportunities The MV Hunt Club and the MV Rod and Gun Club are both great local entry points for anyone interested in hunting on the Island. A local Venison Donation Program connects hunters with a network of Island partners who redistribute harvested deer directly to islanders facing food insecurity. The program is part of MassWildlife's statewide Hunters Share the Harvest program, which allows hunters to donate venison to Massachusetts residents facing food insecurity. Since launching in 2022, the statewide program has distributed over 100,000 meals to families in need.

Look at our “Why Deer” page and community letter

Ticks only feed three times in their lives, each time spending 5–15 days on a host before dropping off. With a 2–3 year lifespan, that means ticks spend roughly 95% of their lives in the environment, spread across the landscape, making them difficult to target directly. Their reproductive capacity makes this even more challenging. A single female deer tick lays approximately 2,000 eggs, while lone star tick females can lay 3,000–5,000. A single deer can harbor up to 200 adult lone star ticks, 500 nymphs, and 1,500 larvae during a single peak week, and each of those engorged females will soon drop off and lay thousands of eggs. This is why experts agree that addressing ticks requires a multi-pronged approach. Targeting ticks directly, through acaricide treatments or habitat modification like clearing leaf litter and brush, can reduce tick density in specific areas. Personal protection strategies like permethrin-treated clothing and repellents reduce individual exposure. And host management, particularly reducing deer populations, targets the engine driving tick reproduction and dispersal across the landscape. None of these strategies is sufficient alone — and on Martha's Vineyard, none of them will have a meaningful impact without first reducing deer density. But combined and sustained, they can meaningfully reduce the tick burden at the community level.

Martha's Vineyard is one of the most concentrated tick-borne illness hotspots in the United States. Across nearly every category of tick-borne disease, the island's rates vastly exceed Massachusetts state averages. Lyme Disease: Martha's Vineyard's Lyme disease rate was 11 times higher than the state's overall rate from 2020–2024, with 784 reported cases in Dukes County over that period. Alpha-Gal Syndrome: In 2025, 1,689 alpha-gal tests were administered — 742 of which came back positive, a positivity rate of approximately 44%. A comparable rate of approximately 42% was recorded in 2024. Babesiosis: Babesiosis is also prevalent in Dukes/Nantucket County, with a 2025 incidence rate of 103.01 per 100,000. Between 2020 and 2024, 113 cases were reported — a rate 11.6 times higher than the Massachusetts state average. Other Tick-Borne Illnesses: Anaplasmosis was 5 times more prevalent than the state average between 2020 and 2024, with 60 confirmed cases. Ehrlichiosis — driven largely by the expanding lone star tick — ran 99 times higher than the state average over the same period, with 25 cases. Tularemia (17 cases) and Rocky Mountain spotted fever (22 cases) were 143 and 185 times more prevalent than state averages, respectively, with both conditions rising sharply since 2019. For more information Martha's Vineyard Tick Guide — Safety and Prevention Tips Monthly Tick-borne Disease Reports | Mass.gov Tick-borne disease surveillance summaries and data | Mass.gov Inter-Island Public Health Excellence Collaborative — Tick-Borne Disease Surveillance Data (2020–2024), compiled by Lea Hamner, Dukes County Epidemiologist