Georgia Southern’s U.S. National Tick Collection Tied to a 9-Year High

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says tick-bite visits to U.S. emergency rooms are at the highest level recorded for this point in the year since 2017. The CDC’s April 2026 data shows 101 emergency department visits for tick bites per 100,000 nationwide, up from 68 per 100,000 in April 2025. The questions that follow, about which ticks are nearby, what illnesses they carry, and how to remove one safely, are what the U.S. National Tick Collection in Statesboro, Georgia, has spent more than 100 years cataloging.

The collection, the world’s largest curated tick collection, belongs to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and has been housed at Georgia Southern University since 1990. It holds more than 1 million specimens and represents most of the approximately 860 known species of ticks. Its researchers field the same questions arriving from emergency rooms, public health agencies and curious residents year-round. For South Georgians, the work the curators do covers the same backyards, hunting grounds and hiking trails now drawing national attention in the CDC’s 2026 reports.

A Smithsonian Resource in South Georgia

The U.S. National Tick Collection sits on Georgia Southern’s Statesboro campus, administered through the James H. Oliver, Jr., Institute for Coastal Plain Science. The collection is owned by the U.S. National Museum of Natural History, part of the Smithsonian Institution, and arrived at Georgia Southern in 1990 through a long-term enhancement loan and a memorandum of understanding. The official page for the U.S. National Tick Collection identifies Lorenza Beati, who holds both an M.D. and a Ph.D., as the collection’s curator. Beati runs the collection’s research program and its public inquiries, fields questions from doctors and curious residents, and oversees visiting scientists who come to study the holdings. She is one of two curators, a structure she credits for keeping the collection active year-round.

The collection’s history goes back to the early 1900s, when Dr. Howard T. Ricketts and his team proved that ticks were transmitting Rocky Mountain spotted fever in outbreaks across Montana and Idaho. The historical core was built by Dr. Robert A. Cooley and Dr. Glen M. Kohls at Montana State College, then moved to the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in 1931 and grew through global fieldwork, donations and a major partnership with Dr. Harry H. Hoogstraal in Cairo. The Smithsonian took ownership in 1983, and the move to Statesboro followed seven years later.

With more than 125,000 accessioned lots and an attached library of reprints, monographs and historical archives, the collection is one of the largest, if not the largest, curated tick collections in the world. It includes type specimens used to describe species for the first time, which serve as the physical references for tick identification worldwide. “By having two curators here, we really keep the collection very active,” Beati said, noting that the staff publishes often, runs research on its own samples and hosts visiting scientists. Researchers from Africa, South America, the Caribbean, the Galapagos, Australia and Asia have come to work with the holdings in person.

The 2026 CDC Numbers Behind the Concern

The emergency-room tick-bite data dashboard maintained by the CDC has logged elevated weekly tick-bite visits for most of 2026. In all regions except the South Central United States, weekly ER rates are the highest recorded for this point in the year since 2017. The agency announced the trend on April 23, 2026, in advance of Lyme Disease Awareness Month in May. The dashboard pulls from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program, which gathers emergency department data from across the country. The CDC announcement names Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and alpha-gal syndrome as the tick-borne illnesses most likely to draw emergency room attention in the months ahead.

The April 2026 rate reached 101 emergency department visits for tick bites per 100,000 nationwide, up from 68 per 100,000 in April 2025. An estimated 31 million people in the United States are bitten by a tick each year, and an estimated 476,000 patients a year are treated for Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the country, according to the CDC. “Tick season is here and these tiny biters can make you seriously sick,” CDC epidemiologist Alison Hinckley said in the April 2026 announcement on tick-bite ER visits.

The Ticks South Georgians Run Into

Beati describes four tick species as the ones most relevant to South Georgians, and their activity shifts with the seasons. The Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum) is the one she calls “abundant, aggressive, and likely to bite people.” The Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum) and the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) round out the local roster most likely to interact with people outdoors. The blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) shows up locally in fall and winter, though the Lyme disease risk it carries in the Northeast is not the same risk South Georgians face.

Lone Star ticks are not specifically seeking humans, Beati said. They look for vertebrate hosts in the woods and along the edges of trails, and people become accidental hosts when they spend time in the same places. Lone Star ticks will sit and wait for a person to arrive, and they will follow once the person is on the move, Beati added. Ticks climb upward and look for openings at cuffs, collars and waistbands, which is one reason Beati recommends tucking shirts into pants. Light-colored clothing helps with end-of-outing tick checks, she said.

The diseases carried by these species vary. Lone Star ticks can transmit ehrlichiosis, a bacterial illness that Beati describes as often mild but more serious in older adults or people with other conditions; it is treatable with antibiotics when diagnosed. American dog ticks can carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, with high fever and sometimes spots on the skin or a rash at the bite site, and Gulf Coast ticks can carry a spotted fever group rickettsia that may include a rash around the feeding site. “The symptoms of ehrlichiosis are not very specific,” Beati said. “If they get a tick bite and one week or 10 days later they have high fever, they should remember the tick bite.”

Why Lyme Disease Stays a Local Lull

South Georgia is not where Lyme disease draws its map. The blacklegged tick is the Lyme vector in the United States, and while it can be found in South Georgia, Beati says the Lyme infection rate in local ticks is far below the rates in the Northeast. “If you collect adult [ticks] in, let’s say, Connecticut, 45% of them contain Lyme,” Beati said. “If you collect them here, it’s maybe 0.1%.” With Lyme prevalence that low, she said the disease is not one of the top local tick-borne concerns. “Here the prevalence of Lyme disease is very, very, very low,” she said. “So it’s not too much of a concern in this area.”

The CDC’s framing is national: 476,000 patients a year are treated for Lyme, mostly in the Northeast, Midwest and mid-Atlantic. The same tick species that transmits Lyme is documented locally in cooler months. Beati keeps the focus on other tick-borne diseases, given how low the local Lyme rate is in collected ticks.

Alpha-Gal Syndrome, the Allergy Hiding in a Bite

The most unusual local risk is one many people would not connect to a tick. Lone Star tick bites can cause alpha-gal syndrome, a condition that can leave some people allergic to red meat, including beef, pork, goat and lamb. “The Lone Star tick is also the cause of red meat allergy,” Beati said. “It’s something called the alpha-gal syndrome.”

The allergy can be serious. Some people with alpha-gal syndrome experience anaphylactic shock, a potentially life-threatening reaction. People with the condition can still eat chicken and fish, Beati said. The allergy sometimes fades over time if additional bites are avoided, she noted, though others deal with it for much longer.

CDC tracking has documented alpha-gal syndrome cases predominantly in areas where the Lone Star tick is known to be established or reported, according to a geographic study of suspected alpha-gal cases published by the agency. The agency and outside researchers have also tied the syndrome to bites from blacklegged and western black-legged ticks in published case reports, a development researchers continue to study. South Georgia sits inside the established Lone Star tick range, the same territory Beati’s collection has documented for years. Specimens from the collection have been used in research on the ticks that drive alpha-gal and the broader questions the syndrome raises.

How to Stay Safe Outdoors, and What to Do With an Attached Tick

Beati’s advice for residents is to keep enjoying the outdoors, but with simple precautions. “Don’t let it stop you from doing fun stuff,” she said. “If you protect yourself properly, enjoy the weekend.”

DEET-based repellents still work well, she said, though a high concentration is needed. Permethrin is the other main option, and it goes on clothing, not skin. “You can spray permethrin on your clothes, not on yourself,” Beati said. “You let them dry, and then you can wear them.” The CDC makes the same recommendation in its April 2026 announcement, advising permethrin-treated clothing for time spent outdoors in tick habitat.

Clothing matters as much as repellent. Ticks climb upward and look for openings, so Beati recommends tucking shirts into pants and making it harder for the bugs to reach skin. For hunters, anglers and hikers in particular, she said treating outdoor clothing with permethrin is a worthwhile step. Light-colored clothing also helps with the tick checks that should happen at the end of an outing, when unattached ticks can be brushed off before they find a place to feed. Checking children, pets and gear is part of the same routine, Beati said.

• Use an EPA-registered repellent such as DEET at a high concentration.
• Treat clothing with permethrin; let it dry before wearing.
• Tuck shirts into pants and pants into socks to close the openings ticks look for.
• Wear light-colored clothing to make ticks easier to spot.
• Do a full-body tick check at the end of any outing, including scalp, ears, underarms, behind knees and waistband.

If a tick is attached, Beati said, remove it right away with fine-tipped tweezers, grasping as close to the skin as possible and pulling straight out without twisting. The CDC notes that removing an attached tick within 24 hours can help prevent Lyme disease. Beati also recommends saving the tick in a sealed plastic bag in the freezer, in case symptoms develop later and a doctor wants to identify what bit the patient.

You really need to remove the tick as close as possible to your skin. Then pull out so that you don’t squish the back of the tick.

Beati, who holds both an M.D. and a Ph.D., said the advice she gives neighbors and students is the same advice she would follow herself. For more on what 2026 looks like in the state, the Riverdale Standard has reported on Georgia’s tick season pushing ER visits to a nine-year high.

Frequently Asked Questions

What ticks are most common in South Georgia?

The Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum) is the most common local species, according to Georgia Southern curator Lorenza Beati, who describes it as abundant and aggressive toward people. The Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum), the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) are also present in the region, with the blacklegged tick more active in fall and winter.

What diseases do ticks carry in South Georgia?

Lone Star ticks can transmit ehrlichiosis and are the cause of alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy. Gulf Coast ticks can carry a spotted fever group rickettsia, and American dog ticks can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Lyme disease, while common in the Northeast, has very low prevalence in local tick populations, Beati says, and is not a top local concern.

What is alpha-gal syndrome?

Alpha-gal syndrome is a condition that can develop after Lone Star tick bites, leaving some people allergic to red meat including beef, pork, goat and lamb. Reactions can include anaphylactic shock, a potentially life-threatening response. People with the condition can still eat chicken and fish, and the allergy can be temporary for some people, particularly if further bites are avoided.

How should I remove a tick?

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible, then pull straight out without twisting or squeezing the body. Disinfect the bite and wash your hands afterward. The CDC says removing attached ticks within 24 hours can help prevent Lyme disease. Saving the tick in a sealed bag in the freezer can help a doctor identify the bite if symptoms develop.

When should I see a doctor after a tick bite?

Tell your doctor about the bite if symptoms develop in the days or weeks afterward, Beati says. Tick-borne illnesses often begin with fever, headache, fatigue or rash, and a known bite is often the key clue for diagnosis. Ehrlichiosis in particular produces non-specific symptoms that can be hard to pin down without the bite history.

Where is the U.S. National Tick Collection?

The collection is housed on Georgia Southern University’s Statesboro campus under the James H. Oliver, Jr., Institute for Coastal Plain Science. It is owned by the U.S. National Museum of Natural History, part of the Smithsonian Institution, and has been at Georgia Southern since 1990.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have been bitten by a tick and develop symptoms such as fever, rash, headache or fatigue, consult a qualified health care provider. The tick-borne disease figures and emergency room visit rates cited are accurate as of publication.