For 2026, Tucker County leads the state in highest risk for Lyme disease per capita, near 1%, at a CDC reported 545 cases per 100,000. Tucker County also has the most towns in the top 10 for the state of West Virginia, according to TickZone.
Lyme disease isn’t the only tick-borne illness risk found in the county. The Tucker County Health Department has also tracked high incidence of anaplasmosis, a tick-borne bacterial disease spread primarily by the blacklegged tick (deer tick) and western blacklegged tick. It is highly treatable with antibiotics. Other less common illnesses include Alpha-Gal Syndrome, ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Tucker County is fortunate, however, to have resources, such as the St. George Medical Clinic where individuals can get a full tick-borne disease panel run and get prompt treatment, according to the Tucker County Health Department.
Nathan Burnett, founder of TickZone, explained that his site ranks towns and counties based on several factors:
“Habitat, from satellite land cover at 10-meter resolution. Two inputs: how much of the town is forested, and how fragmented that forest is. Edge density carries real weight alongside raw forest cover, because the boundary between woods and yards is where people actually meet ticks, so a broken-up town can outrank one with more total canopy.
Disease incidence, from CDC county-level Lyme case rates. Incidence and habitat are combined additively rather than multiplied, deliberately. A populous county cannot dilute its per-capita rate low enough to hide a genuinely wooded town inside it, and two towns in the same county still separate from each other on their own land cover,” Burnett said.
TickZone ranks four of Tucker County’s towns in the top ten for West Virginia for tick risk. Thomas, Davis, Hendricks and Hambleton all made the list for 2026. Tucker was also the only county to have more than one town in the top five.
1. Adrian-Upshur County
2. Thomas-Tucker County
3. Galloway-Barbour County
4. Newburg-Preston County
5. Hendricks-Tucker County
6. Parcoal-Webster County
7. Davis-Tucker County
8. Hambleton-Tucker County
9. Bergoo-Webster County
10. Camden-on-Gauley-Webster County
Tucker County specific rankings from the site are as follows:
1. Thomas High 95/100 https://tickzone.app/location/west-virginia/thomas
2. Hendricks High 94/100 https://tickzone.app/location/west-virginia/hendricks
3. Davis High 93/100 https://tickzone.app/location/west-virginia/davis
4. Hambleton High 93/100 https://tickzone.app/location/west-virginia/hambleton
5. St. George High 91/100 https://tickzone.app/location/west-virginia/st-george
6. Parsons High 89/100 https://tickzone.app/location/west-virginia/parsons
While the general tick season for West Virginia is whenever the ground is not frozen, generally March to November, peak tick season generally runs between April and July for Tucker County.
“Season, on a separate calendar per species. Deer tick nymphs peak in June and July, which is why so much of the map is near its ceiling right now. The lone star tick runs a different curve, with larval swarms holding risk into September. The American dog tick is largely finished by fall. Each is scored on its own curve rather than one blended seasonal average,” Burnett said.
According to TickZone, the largest factors in tick activity are temperature, humidity, and time of day. The largest contributing factor is temperature. Adult deer ticks begin “questing” once the ground is above 40 degrees. Below this threshold, the ticks stay below the leaf litter, but as the temperature climbs to between 60 to 70 degrees, with good humidity, ticks become most active. However, past 85 degrees and dry, ticks retreat back down to avoid drying out, the site says, which makes the hottest days the least risky.
“Weather, refreshed every morning. Temperature is the real gate: effectively zero below freezing, ideal between about 59F and 82F, declining again in extreme heat when ticks retreat into the litter. Humidity enters as vapor pressure deficit rather than raw relative humidity, because 60 percent humidity at 86F dries out a nymph far faster than 60 percent at 54F. Trailing seven-day rainfall carries the drought signal,” Burnett said.
The site also says that there is not a safe hour of the day, due to temperature and humidity being the main factors to activity. Ticks are most often easiest to pick up in the cooler, lower-light parts of the day in early morning and evening, even through the night. Deer ticks tend to favor cooler hours and lone star ticks are aggressive daytime hunters that will continue to remain active through dry midday heat that will send deer ticks to ground, though they hunt in the shaded brush, the site says.
The CDC offers the following advice to prevent tick bites. Before going outdoors, be aware of surroundings. Ticks live in grassy, brushy or wooded areas and on animals. Avoid these areas and stay to the center of trails. The CDC reports that many people get ticks in their own yard or neighborhood.
Be sure to treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin, as well. It can be used to treat boots, clothing and camping gear and will remain protective through several washings. Permethrin-treated clothing and gear is also available for purchase.
The CDC gives the following guidelines for insect repellents:
Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone. Look for an EPA registration number (EPA Reg. No.) on the insect repellent product label.
This registration number means the company provided EPA with technical information on the effectiveness of the product. When used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
EPA’s helpful search tool can help you find the product that best suits your needs.
Always follow product instructions. Do not use products containing OLE or PMD on children under 3 years old.
If you are using sunscreen, apply sunscreen first and insect repellent second.
After returning indoors, the CDC recommends that clothing be checked thoroughly. Ticks can be carried into the house on clothing. Any ticks that are found should be removed. Clothing should also be tumble dried on high heat for at least 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing after returning indoors, as well. If clothing requires washing, hot water is recommended as cold or medium temperature water will not kill ticks.
Pets and gear are also recommended to be checked. Ticks can also hitch a ride indoors on gear and pets and attach to people later. Items such as coats, packs, sleeping gear and pet’s fur should be checked thoroughly.
The CDC said that showering within two hours of returning indoors has been shown to reduce Lyme disease risk and may be effective in reducing the risk of other tickborne diseases. It also helps to dislodge unattached ticks and allows a good opportunity to conduct a tick check, as a full body check is recommended upon returning from potentially tick infested areas, including backyards.
For more information on tick prevention, go to cdc.gov/ticks/prevention/index.html. For more information on TickZone go to https://tickzone.app.
