From a Mother Lode Trails reporter March 30, 2026:
"I was riding from Sterling Pointe Equestrian Staging area to Avery Pond and back. When we got back we found our horses were covered with ticks. We removed 40+ ticks off just one of our horses!"
From MOTHER LODE TRAILS:
Ticks are coming out EARLY this year! Every year Mother Lode Trails posts this warning about ticks, how to repel and avoid them.
TICKS! IT'S LYME TIME!
Several trail users have told of dozens of Black Legged Ticks crawling on hikers, horseback riders, and particularly dogs. After a hike on the Independence Trail, one hiker removed 20+ ticks from one dog. Grassy trails in our area right now are loaded with ticks waiting to jump on you and your pets. Be aware in ALL grassy and treed areas. Where ever there are deer, there will be ticks.
WHY SO MANY TICKS??
We have had much higher than normal warm weather and earlier rainfall resulting in a higher mouse and deer population, the main carriers of the Black Legged Tick. Add the lush grass and brush where they can hide and drop on any person or animal that brushes past, and we have a perfect storm.
BLACK LEGGED TICKS ARE A MAIN CARRIER OF LYME DISEASE
Approximately 10% to 30% of the ticks tested in our area are affected by Lyme Disease and can pass it to you, your horses and your pets. If not identified and treated quickly, Lyme can become a chronic and debilitating disease. Lyme disease in humans has more than doubled in the past decade. Ticks carry many more diseases than just Lyme. Ticks cause more disease than any other insect except mosquitos, and only because mosquitos have a much larger geographical range. Ticks can harm your horses, causing Tick Fever which exhibits extremely high fevers, lethargy, and death. Dogs may develop Lyme disease, becoming ill with fever and developing lameness and sluggishness. A more serious form of the disease can affect the kidneys and is often fatal.
WHAT TO DO?
For humans:
Wear light colored clothing, stay on the trails, and use sprays containing DEET, or better for the environment, Picardin. You can even apply Picardin products to your clothes that lasts through washing.
For horseback riders:
Before you ride, best tick repellent and killer for horses is Farnam BiteFree Spray or Farnam Endure. Perform a thorough tick check on yourself and your horses when you get home. If your pastures have deer visiting, be sure to regularly put those tick killer sprays on your horses on their legs, back, face and stomach where the ticks either land from above or crawl up from the grass.
See the poster below showing the only approved way to remove a tick from dogs, horses and humans.
MORE INFO
www.MotherLodeTrails.org
To see all the information posted about Lyme Disease, and ticks in our area, and how to deal with them, just type in "Lyme" in the Search function box at the top of this webpage.
"I was riding from Sterling Pointe Equestrian Staging area to Avery Pond and back. When we got back we found our horses were covered with ticks. We removed 40+ ticks off just one of our horses!"
From MOTHER LODE TRAILS:
Ticks are coming out EARLY this year! Every year Mother Lode Trails posts this warning about ticks, how to repel and avoid them.
TICKS! IT'S LYME TIME!
Several trail users have told of dozens of Black Legged Ticks crawling on hikers, horseback riders, and particularly dogs. After a hike on the Independence Trail, one hiker removed 20+ ticks from one dog. Grassy trails in our area right now are loaded with ticks waiting to jump on you and your pets. Be aware in ALL grassy and treed areas. Where ever there are deer, there will be ticks.
WHY SO MANY TICKS??
We have had much higher than normal warm weather and earlier rainfall resulting in a higher mouse and deer population, the main carriers of the Black Legged Tick. Add the lush grass and brush where they can hide and drop on any person or animal that brushes past, and we have a perfect storm.
BLACK LEGGED TICKS ARE A MAIN CARRIER OF LYME DISEASE
Approximately 10% to 30% of the ticks tested in our area are affected by Lyme Disease and can pass it to you, your horses and your pets. If not identified and treated quickly, Lyme can become a chronic and debilitating disease. Lyme disease in humans has more than doubled in the past decade. Ticks carry many more diseases than just Lyme. Ticks cause more disease than any other insect except mosquitos, and only because mosquitos have a much larger geographical range. Ticks can harm your horses, causing Tick Fever which exhibits extremely high fevers, lethargy, and death. Dogs may develop Lyme disease, becoming ill with fever and developing lameness and sluggishness. A more serious form of the disease can affect the kidneys and is often fatal.
WHAT TO DO?
For humans:
Wear light colored clothing, stay on the trails, and use sprays containing DEET, or better for the environment, Picardin. You can even apply Picardin products to your clothes that lasts through washing.
For horseback riders:
Before you ride, best tick repellent and killer for horses is Farnam BiteFree Spray or Farnam Endure. Perform a thorough tick check on yourself and your horses when you get home. If your pastures have deer visiting, be sure to regularly put those tick killer sprays on your horses on their legs, back, face and stomach where the ticks either land from above or crawl up from the grass.
See the poster below showing the only approved way to remove a tick from dogs, horses and humans.
MORE INFO
www.MotherLodeTrails.org
To see all the information posted about Lyme Disease, and ticks in our area, and how to deal with them, just type in "Lyme" in the Search function box at the top of this webpage.
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