Roll Down Your Sleeves, The Ticks are Hungry Already in Connecticut

Dog-owners of Connecticut, be aware. Although this is the first stretch of consecutive 70+ degree days we've had, I had to take a tick off of my Chihuahua yesterday.

It's only April 24, 2025, and already it appears that this is going to be a bad summer for ticks in Connecticut. The leaves haven't even come in yet, and the grass is only now starting to turn from tan to green, but those little blood-sucking parasites are already waiting for you to brush by.

Litchfield County is the wildlife hotbed of Connecticut in early 2025, with the highest number of recorded bear and bobcat sightings. I totally noticed four or five overturned garbage cans along Rt. 202 on my way in yesterday that had been rifled through by either bears or racoons. Something much smaller got my attention last night.

I felt a tiny, hard bump on my Chihuahua's neck after taking him for a walk along the Naugatuck River in Torrington yesterday afternoon. It was no more than the size of a piece of rice, but it felt like a BB was in his fur. After a few minutes of trying to peer between the tiny hairs, I located a small black-legged deer tick attacked to his neck. According to ct.gov, these are one of the most common in Connecticut and New England, yet it still made my skin crawl.

Get our free mobile app

I've removed dozens of ticks from my dogs over the years, and from myself a couple of times. The most important thing to do is remove the tick's head if it's embedded into your or your pet's skin. I try to remove ticks like I'm popping a zit, I pinch the skin around the tick to bring it off, while squeezing the area near the head to 'Pop' it out. Afterward, I swabbed the bite area on my little guy with some rubbing alcohol. Be aware, the ticks are already out there, and they are hungry.