Do Ticks in Tennessee Carry Lyme Disease?
Blacklegged ticks are present in Tennessee
Southern ticks may quest differently than northern ticks
Tick behavior may influence regional Lyme disease risk
Do ticks in Tennessee carry Lyme disease? In Tennessee, blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) capable of carrying the Lyme disease bacterium have been identified, although Lyme disease has historically been reported less often than in many northeastern and upper Midwestern states.
Researchers believe differences in how northern and southern blacklegged ticks seek hosts may partly explain this regional difference in Lyme disease risk.
One possible explanation involves questing behavior—the way ticks position themselves while waiting for an animal or person to pass by.
What Is Questing Tick Behavior?
Ticks do not jump or fly. Instead, they climb onto leaves, grass, sticks, or other vegetation and wait for a potential host.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, questing ticks hold onto vegetation with their third and fourth pairs of legs while extending their first pair of legs. When a person or animal brushes against the vegetation, the tick can quickly climb aboard.2
Questing height may matter because ticks positioned above the leaf litter may be more likely to come into contact with people.
Northern Ticks Climbed More Often Than Tennessee Ticks
In a study of nymphal blacklegged ticks, Arsnoe and colleagues compared the questing behavior of ticks collected in Michigan and Tennessee.3
The researchers measured how often the ticks climbed a standardized wooden dowel used to evaluate questing behavior.
They found that the nymphal ticks from Michigan were approximately eight times more likely to climb the dowel than the nymphal ticks from Tennessee.
This behavioral difference may help explain why people in northern states encounter nymphal blacklegged ticks more often, despite the presence of the same tick species in southern states.
Why Does This Matter for Lyme Disease?
Ticks that climb higher on vegetation may be more likely to contact people walking through grass, brush, or wooded areas.
If southern ticks remain beneath the leaf litter more often, human exposure to infected nymphs may be reduced even when blacklegged ticks are present.
This suggests that regional Lyme disease risk may depend on more than tick abundance alone. Host-seeking behavior, climate, animal hosts, infection prevalence, and patterns of human exposure may all contribute.
Why Might Southern Ticks Stay Below the Leaf Litter?
The researchers discussed three possible explanations for the lower questing behavior observed among the Tennessee ticks:
- Southern ticks may remain closer to the ground to avoid drying out in hotter environmental conditions.
- They may find blood meals below the leaf litter by feeding on animals such as skinks.
- Southern and northern blacklegged tick populations may have inherited behavioral differences.
When ticks remain beneath the leaf litter, they may be less likely to come into contact with people walking through grass, wooded areas, or other tick habitats.
This does not mean that southern ticks cannot bite people or transmit disease. It suggests that differences in host-seeking behavior may influence how frequently people encounter them.
Could Lyme Disease Risk Increase in Tennessee?
Arsnoe and colleagues noted that blacklegged tick populations infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, the primary bacterium responsible for Lyme disease in the United States, had been detected in four eastern Tennessee counties.
The investigators proposed that East Tennessee could represent a transition zone between northern and southern tick populations.
If northern blacklegged ticks continue moving into southern areas and retain their tendency to climb higher while questing, people in those regions could encounter nymphal ticks more frequently.
This could potentially increase the risk of Lyme disease and other infections transmitted by blacklegged ticks. However, the researchers emphasized that additional studies would be needed to confirm how migrating tick populations behave after becoming established in southern states.
Lyme Disease in East Tennessee
Lyme disease can occur in Tennessee, and the Tennessee Department of Health recognizes the blacklegged tick as the vector responsible for transmitting Lyme disease in the state.4
Nevertheless, the presence of blacklegged ticks does not mean that every tick is infected or that the risk is identical throughout Tennessee. Infection rates and human exposure can differ considerably between counties and habitats.
People who live in or visit Tennessee should still take tick precautions, particularly after spending time in wooded areas, brush, tall grass, leaf litter, or locations where deer and small mammals are common.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do ticks in Tennessee carry Lyme disease?
Yes. In Tennessee, Lyme disease is associated with infected blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks. Not every blacklegged tick carries Borrelia burgdorferi, and the level of risk may vary by location.
Is Lyme disease common in Tennessee?
Lyme disease has historically been reported less often in Tennessee than in high-incidence states in the Northeast and upper Midwest. However, cases can occur, and infected blacklegged tick populations have been identified in parts of the state.
Are there deer ticks in Tennessee?
Yes. Blacklegged ticks, commonly called deer ticks, are present in Tennessee. These ticks can transmit Lyme disease when they are infected with Lyme disease bacteria.
Why are northern ticks more likely to transmit Lyme disease to people?
Northern nymphal blacklegged ticks may climb vegetation more often than southern ticks. This questing behavior can increase their chances of contacting people and may contribute to regional differences in Lyme disease risk.
Can Lyme disease occur in East Tennessee?
Yes. Infected blacklegged tick populations have been detected in eastern Tennessee, and Lyme disease can occur in the region. A history of possible tick exposure should be considered when compatible symptoms develop.
Clinical Takeaway
Blacklegged ticks capable of transmitting Lyme disease are present in Tennessee, but tick behavior may help explain why Lyme disease risk has historically differed between northern and southern states.
Questing behavior is one factor that may influence Lyme disease risk, but climate, reservoir hosts, tick infection rates, and human exposure patterns also contribute to regional differences.
Residents and visitors should not assume that Lyme disease is impossible in Tennessee simply because the state has historically reported fewer cases than northern regions.
Related Articles
Learn more about regional differences in blacklegged ticks and the infections they may transmit:
Southern nymphal deer ticks in hiding?
Kentucky is swarming with deer ticks: Over 50% of counties infested
References
- Arsnoe IM, Hickling GJ, Ginsberg HS, McElreath R, Tsao JI. Different populations of blacklegged tick nymphs exhibit differences in questing behavior that have implications for human Lyme disease risk. PLoS One. 2015;10:e0127450.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ticks: Life cycle and hosts.
- Arsnoe I, Tsao JI, Hickling GJ. Nymphal Ixodes scapularis questing behavior explains geographic variation in Lyme borreliosis risk in the eastern United States. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2019;10(3):553–563.
- Tennessee Department of Health. Lyme disease. Updated April 20, 2026.
Dr. Daniel Cameron, MD, MPH
Lyme disease clinician with over 30 years of experience and past president of ILADS.
Symptoms • Testing • Coinfections • Recovery • Pediatric • Prevention
