Are ticks worse than ever this season or what?

Coming out of the winter and into the spring in New England always means the start of rain, mud, and tick season.

A few days ago, I felt a tick crawling from behind my ear onto my scalp, and it made me realize tick season had fully begun.

When chatting with my neighbor, he informed me that he has already pulled a few off of himself, and his dog had already suffered from an infectious tick.

Why are ticks so bad in New England right now?

According to a USA Today article, there has been an increase in tick sightings in the past two weeks.

So, you're not crazy to feel like they are really bad right now, because they are. After a mild winter, ticks can be more active. Let alone a pop-up week of sunny and 75, like last week... It's like a tickpalooza.

But the increased numbers are hardly the thing to stress over...there is a new trend that has New England tick experts concerned.

Lone-Star Ticks in New England:

Most people are familiar with deer ticks. The black legged ticks that carry Lyme disease.

Director of the University of Rhode Island Center for Vector-Borne Disease, Thomas Mather, is seeing an alarming rise in Lone-Star ticks in New England.

Lone-Star ticks cause an allergy to red meat.

Ten years ago, black-legged ticks outnumbered lone-star ticks 50 to 1. Now, the ratio is down to 3 to 1.

Lone Star ticks have a white spot on their backs. In addition to the allergy to red meat, the tick bite can also cause gastric distress and spots on your skin.

So be on the lookout this year for all types of ticks. The sooner you can get it off/out of you, the better.

Keep scrolling to see the 20 Biggest Insects in the World