Battle against ticks continues: Committee explores options

The proliferation of ticks this year has become “a national problem,” said Deer & Tick Committee Chairman Dr. James Bevilacqua at the June meeting. But knowing tick-borne diseases are occurring nationwide doesn’t sooth Islanders coping with the problem literally in their own backyards.

Visits to emergency rooms for tick bites are higher than normal in many parts of the country right now, according to the Center for Disease Control and Preventions “Tick Bite Tracker.” In all regions, the CDC reports, except the South Central United States, weekly rates of emergency room visits for tick bites are the highest for this time of year since 2017. 

Every year, an estimated 31 million people in the U.S. are bitten by a tick. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States, with an estimated 476,000 patients treated for Lyme each year.

According to Alison Hinckley, an epidemiologist and Lyme disease expert with CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, “Tick season is here and these tiny biters can make you seriously sick. The good news is you have options to help prevent tick bites when you spend time outdoors: You can wear EPA-registered insect repellent and permethrin-treated clothing, do tick checks, and remove attached ticks as quickly as possible. These simple steps can go a long way in protecting you and your family from diseases spread by ticks. And if you develop a rash or fever in the days to weeks after a bite, or after being in an area with ticks, seek medical care promptly.”

In April of this year, the CDC released data that showed in 2023 there were more cases of Lyme disease in Suffolk County than any U.S. county. Suffolk also had the most cases of alpha gal syndrome in the U.S. in 2023, according to the CDC.

At it’s June meeting the D&T Committee focused on what can be done locally to address the problem. One solution discussed was to train more hunters to reduce the deer herd on which the ticks feed. New York State prohibits paying hunters to kill deer. There are programs to train bow hunters, but attracting more is simply not having much impact and a severely cold winter like this year’s only serves to protect the ticks and discourage hunters from spending the long hours needed to take a deer. 

An incentive program, such as entering hunters in a raffle to receive certificates for hunting equipment is far from enough to bring more hunters out these days, committee members agreed.

Many of those still hunting will take just enough deer to feed their families, which isn’t enough to significantly reduce the herd. There were 193 deer taken on Shelter Island in 2025 and the beginning of 2026. That is below the 236 count for the previous year and the lowest number of deer taken during the same period since 2006, according to Beau Payne, a member of the Police Department, who provides advice to the D&T Committee.

One way to combat the diseases is to eliminate ticks by culling deer herds. A doe not taken during the fall recreational hunt or the so-called “nuisance hunt” in January and February generally gives birth to two fawns in the early spring, Dr. Bevilacqua said. The Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators (NWCO) program depends on experienced, licensed hunters to expand the number of deer taken during the earlier recreational deer hunting season, with more deer taken during the later winter nuisance hunt, licensed by the state.

According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), “This license authorizes an individual to take/trap, transport and release wildlife whenever the animal becomes a nuisance, destroys property or threatens public safety. The individual can conduct these activities for commercial purposes or as an employee of a municipality.”

A once effective means of killing ticks was the use of four-poster stands that rubbed the tickicide permethrin on deer necks as they fed at the units. The state has prohibited the use of four-posters, eliminating the effectiveness they once provided.

EDUCATION

Committee member Julia Weisenberg heads the effort on educating the public on prevention of tick-borne illnesses. She teaches archery to students with the hope they might later develop an interest in hunting. Off-Island, she offers courses for adults, and has tried to convince some to hunt on the Island. But her outreach has failed to attract more hunters to the Island.

A program Ms. Weisenberg organizes with Mashomack Preserve staff members for young students on the Island teaches them how to protect themselves from tick bites that can result in illnesses. They get packets of information to take home to their families. The packets are also distributed to homeowners’ association members and other groups. Ads with similar information have been placed in the Reporter.

It’s an important step, but committee members are still searching for other means of stepping up the battle against ticks.