Advertisement Tick bites increasing in Vermont Vermont had second-highest population of ticks last year Share Shares Copy Link Copy

In 2014, Vermont had the second-highest population of ticks in all 50 states. With over 13 different types of the critters creeping around every part of the state, it’s important to be able to identify the one type that spreads the most disease.WATCH HERE“The blacklegged tick is the one by far that causes the most disease. Over 99 percent of the diseases that get reported to the Health Department are caused by the blacklegged tick,” Vermont Health Department infectious disease epidemiologist Bradley Tompkins said.If you find a tick attached to you, remove it promptly with a pair of tweezers, put it in a plastic bag and throw it in the trash. Tompkins said monitoring your health in the days after a tick bit is crucial.”Really in Vermont only three of four cases have a rash. So, if you pull a tick off yourself and you don't have a rash but you've got other symptoms like a fever, achy muscles or joints, you should go see your health care provider,” Tompkins said.The Health Department says there is no way to tell if there will be a higher tick population this year due to the unseasonably warm winter. But so far there has been a greater number of people heading to the doctors for tick bites.Tompkins said it is crucial to collect tick bite data in order to track trouble spots in the state.“We set up the tick tracker website so that the public would have an opportunity to provide their own data to the Health Department but also to the public. So that people can go to the website before they go out hiking to see if other people have reported finding ticks on them in that particular area,” Tompkins said.If you’re headed outdoors, Tompkins has one key piece of advice.“If your outside, check your kids, check yourself and check your dogs,” Tompkins said.