Recently winter effects are pretty terrible, namely plague fleas. Heavy snow has acted as a protector for plague-carrier ticks of Lyme causing increased significantly tick population.

“Most people think that they are safe in the city, but these small creatures have sprung up in semi-urban areas, on the playground, and other green spaces”, said Prof. Ralph Garruto, head of the tick-borne disease program at Binghamton University. According to Prof. Ralph, the risk of exposure and infection were found to be equivalent to what is found in the desert, even sometimes higher. Meanwhile, scientists have found a link between deer ticks and Lyme disease.

“The snow acts like a blanket. If they are kept cozy with lots of snow, should not be a big kill-off” Professor Ralph Garruto, program manager tick-borne disease at the University of Binghamton, told the Daily News.

And although you may think you’re safe in the city, the little creatures are appearing in semi-urban areas in places like parks and other green spaces, says Garruto.

“The risk of exposure and infection is at least as high as you would find in the desert, and high maybe more,” he told the Daily News.

Deer ticks, which are more common in the Northeast, can spread Lyme disease and a host of other life-threatening diseases such as powassan virus, which was recently found in Connecticut.