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An adult female lone star tick crawling on a blade of grass.Lauren Bishop/The Canadian Press
- The Q&A will happen in the comment section of this article on Thursday, July 23 at 11 a.m. ET. Click here to head there and leave a question. If you’re an app user, click on the comments icon on the top right of your screen.
- You can also submit a question for our tick expert by sending an e-mail to audience@globeandmail.com, or fill out the submission box at the bottom of this article.
- To read our responses, bookmark this page and tune back in Thursday.
Canada is in the middle of one of its worst seasons for ticks, prompting Canadians across the country to preform tick checks on themselves and pets.
More than 40 different types of ticks, a bloodsucking arachnid responsible for growing rates of Lyme disease, inhabit Canada, several of which can carry disease. These small creatures – which can be as small as a poppy seed – thrive in wooded areas, forests, tall grasses and leaf litter.
Last year, more than 7,100 Canadians were infected with Lyme disease last year, and a new case report published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal warned of increasing cases of tick-borne Anaplasmosis.
On Thursday, July 23 at 11 a.m. ET, Dr. Vett Lloyd and health science reporter Jennifer Yang will be answering reader questions on this year’s tick season, how you can stay safe and take the right precautions if you spot a bug.
Dr. Lloyd is a professor of Biology at Mount Allison University working on ticks and the pathogens they transmit, and is the co-founder of the Canadian Lyme Science Alliance.
Submit your questions in the box below, or send an email to audience@globeandmail.com. If you’d like to submit your question as a voice note, send an email to TheDecibel@globeandmail.com.
How can you stay safe during tick season? Ask us your questions
On Thursday, July 23 at 11 a.m. ET, Dr. Vett Lloyd and health science reporter Jennifer Yang will be answering reader questions on this year’s tick season, how you can stay safe and take the right precautions if you spot a bug. Send us your questions in the box below or at audience@globeandmail.com.