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Quick Take:
While Lane County has low rates of tick-borne illness, warm weather means ticks are out. Health officials recommend repellent, long sleeves and tick checks to protect both people and pets.
At Mount Pisgah, it’s written right on the trailhead wall: “Ticks found in this area may cause Lyme disease and other serious tick-borne illnesses.”
The dry forests, tall grass and open meadows along the trails are the perfect place for ticks, dime-sized insects that perch and wait to latch onto passing people and animals. Spring is when they like to come out to play.
About 20 tick species live in Oregon, but the western black-legged tick is the one known to spread Lyme disease — a bacterial illness that can cause fever, fatigue, joint pain and other serious health issues if left untreated.
Over the past few years, researchers with Lane County’s Public Health Department have collected ticks from local parks and forests. In 2024, they found mostly dog and deer ticks that can transmit other diseases, including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
Signs on the trailhead kiosk at Mount Pisgah, April 2025. Credit: Ashli Blow / Lookout Eugene – Springfield 
A warning sign about ticks at Mount Pisgah’s North trailhead. Credit: Ashli Blow / Lookout Eugene – Springfield 
Ticks can perch on tall grass like that along trails at Mount Pisgah. Credit: Ashli Blow / Lookout Eugene-Springfield 
A view down from Mount Pisgah, where researchers have found dog and deer ticks Credit: Ashli Blow / Lookout Eugene-Springfield 
A hiker on Mount Pisgah, early April 2025. Trail users are encouraged to use tick repellent on the trail. Credit: Ashli Blow / Lookout Eugene-Springfield
Deer ticks are most active in high humidity and when temperatures rise above 45 degrees. As climate change brings warmer temperatures and shorter winters, the range for ticks could become bigger and and their season could become longer.
The good news: Health records show that relatively few people locally are getting sick from tick-borne illnesses.
The Willamette Valley has some of the lowest Lyme disease rates in the state, according to the Oregon Health Authority. The same goes for dogs — only about 1 in 200 test positive each year, based on the authority’s fact sheet on ticks. Those numbers reflect what Rachel Powell, Greenhill Humane Society’s surgery director, sees in her veterinary clinic.
She hasn’t seen any major tick-related issues so far this season.
Still, people should take preventative measures for their four-legged friends who stay close to the ground. Powell’s reasoning is simple.
“Ticks are gross,” she said. “Nobody wants to find ticks on their dogs, and if your dog comes home covered in ticks, even if they don’t all attach to the dog, then you’ve got ticks in your house, and that’s not fun.”
To stay tick-free, the best medicine is prevention, say health leaders. They point to simple steps: wear long sleeves, use repellents, and check for ticks after being outdoors.
