The Indiana Counties Most Likely to Have Ticks with Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease in ticks has been on the rise over the past few years. Here's where you have to worry about ticks carrying this disease the most in Indiana.

Growing up here in Indiana, I always played outside. I'm sure that you had a similar upbringing where you'd play outside all day and as soon as you came inside, your parents said the same thing that my parents told me. "We need to check you for ticks."

None of us really wanted to take the time to get examined from head to toe for ticks, but as always, your parents knew best. If you were lucky, you were all clear of ticks. However, sometimes there would be one attached to you. That's when the tweezers came out and the "fun" would begin. Sometimes those ticks could be a little stubborn when being pulled off of you. Then, you'd hear about how some of these pests could carry disease, and you'd worry about contracting Lyme Disease.

What is Lyme Disease?

According to the CDC:

Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics. However, it is not something that you want to mess around with. This is why it is very important to immediately check yourself for ticks when you have been outside.

Here in Indiana, we have had 2,013 total cases of Lyme Disease confirmed in Indiana from 2000 to 2020 alone. So, where are the most cases of Lyme Disease in Indiana? There's a website called Tick Check that breaks down confirmed cases by county. It's actually a pretty cool tool.

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Which Counties Have the Most Cases of Lyme Disease?

Now, before we get into that. First, let me share with you a concerning phrase that the Tick Check people added to their data:

That's not really comforting at all. But maybe you can take some comfort in knowing which counties are at a higher or lower risk of ticks carrying Lyme Disease. According to Tick Check, it appears that three northern Indiana counties have more confirmed cases of ticks carrying Lyme Disease than any other county.

• LaPorte County- 111 confirmed cases
• Porter County- 200 confirmed cases
• St. Joseph County- 237 confirmed case

Now, those are a lot of confirmed cases in those counties. So, if you live there, please take the time to check for ticks. Don't forget to check your pets too! Even if you are not in any of those counties, that doesn't mean that you are completely out of the woods. The map below shows cases in each county in Indiana. The darker shades of red represent higher cases, the lighter the shade of red, the fewer cases there are.

You can visit the Tick Check website to get detailed results for individual counties and learn more, by clicking here.