Missouri is one of the WORST states for a Tick-Borne Illness

A new ranking has come out showing which states are more at risk for dangerous tick-borne illnesses and Missouri is right near the top of the list...Here are the details you need to know before you hit the hiking trails this summer.

According to a new ranking from pestgnome.com, Missouri is the 9th worst state in the US when it comes to contracting a tick-borne illness. Missouri ranks considerably ahead of neighboring states like Nebraska ranked 37th, Illinois ranked 28th, and Iowa ranked 24th on the list.

How did the site come up with these rankings? They say, "We compared the 50 states based on 6 categories. We looked at annual rates of tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). We also considered environmental factors like forest area, hiking trails, and length of tick and flea season, among 25 total metrics." The states that finished ahead of Missouri on this ranking are states like New York ranked number 1, Texas ranked 3rd, and Wisconsin which ranked 5th, to see the complete list for yourself, click here!

Be Careful Out There...

You can't say we didn't warn you about ticks before you head out for camping, hiking, or mushroom hunting, my colleague wrote this story earlier this week which talks about tick-borne illness warnings from the Missouri Department of Conservation, to read all about their warning, click here!

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and have lived in Chicago for years so I have never had any experience with ticks but since moving to the Quincy area people are very ok with ticks which is why I think it's important to remind ourselves of all the horrible diseases that ticks can give us humans.