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Jamie Cantoni, agriculture research assistant at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, walks around the woods in North Branford to collect ticks. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org

Yes.

While tick season is generally known to start in warmer weather months, experts have forecasted an early start this year due to irregular weather patterns that allow the pests to survive.

Ticks and other pests can stay protected beneath thick snow layers — like those created by recent snowstorms, experts say.

As of last month, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station had already received ticks for testing, according to a Connecticut Public report.

And as temperatures rise, the National Pest Management Association is warning Americans to expect more ticks, which often carry diseases like Lyme disease.

Across the U.S. more than 89,000 cases of Lyme disease were reported in the latest surveillance data to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms of early-stage Lyme disease include muscle and joint ache, headache, fever, chills, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes.

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Mariana Navarrete Villegas is a Community Engagement Reporter for The Connecticut Mirror, covering Hartford. She recently graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism with a master’s degree in Bilingual Journalism. Previously, she was the Community Engagement and Video Assistant at Epicenter-NYC and a Podcast Intern at The Take, Al Jazeera English’s daily news podcast. As a reporter, she has covered stories from New York to Florida, California, Panama, and Mexico, focusing on labor rights, immigration, and community care. She also hosts 'La Chismesita,' a community radio show in New York that archives oral histories through conversations with women community leaders. Originally from Mexico, Mariana spent her teenage years in Panama. She holds a B.A. in Global Studies with a minor in Psychology from Saint Leo University, where she interned at the International Rescue Committee.