Tick Control in Ontario: What a New Canadian Medical Association Journal Case Report Means for Your Yard (and How to Get Rid of Ticks)

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If you live in Ontario and spend time outdoors, tick control is no longer just about Lyme disease. A case report published July 13, 2026 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) is urging doctors across eastern Canada to watch for anaplasmosis. Anaplasmosis a lesser-known illness spread by the blacklegged tick whom also causes Lyme. For homeowners in the Greater Toronto Area as well as rural Ontario, it’s a timely reminder that keeping ticks off your property and off your body matters more than ever.

We will start with what the new research found, why professional and Do-It-Yourself tick control both play a role, and the exact steps to remove ticks safely.

What the new Canadian Medical Association Journal paper found about ticks

The paper, “Tick-borne anaplasmosis and myocarditis in eastern Ontario” (CMAJ, July 2026), was led by Dr. Michael Quon and assisted by colleagues from the University of Ottawa and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Dr Quon is an internal medicine specialist at The Ottawa Hospital.

The report describes a 79-year-old man living in rural part of eastern Ontario who often spent time in the woods. Last summer he developed a fever, chills and generalized weakness that caused him to fall over. In the hospital, it was determined that he had a low blood cell count developing into a shortness of breath, mild kidney injury, and myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle). Notably, the patient didn’t remember being bitten by a tick.

Doctors started him on the antibiotic called doxycycline before lab results confirmed the diagnosis. Doxyccline is the first-line treatment for both Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. He improved quickly and made a full recovery. According to Dr. Quon, myocarditis from anaplasmosis is so rare that it had only been reported in the medical literature only once before.

The takeaway from the paper is that clinicians should consider anaplasmosis early and not wait for a lab result to begin treatment because the risk of the illness progressing is significant.

Why the consideration for anaplasmosis should matter for Ontario residents

Anaplasmosis is caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum and is carried by the blacklegged tick (also called the deer tick). The prevalence of these ticks has been climbing from Manitoba eastward with Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia seeing the biggest tick activity increases.

The numbers tell the story:

• Among ticks collected for testing in 2024, about 6% carried the anaplasmosis bacterium. This is double the 3% recorded in 2022, according Senior Epidemiologist Jules K Koffi of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
• Ontario reported 315 cases of anaplasmosis in 2025, roughly double the previous year.
• Between 50% and 75% of people diagnosed with early Lyme disease don’t remember being bitten, and experts expect the same is true for anaplasmosis. Which is why we stress that prevention on your own property is so important.

One helpful clue for distinguishing the two: Lyme disease often begins with an expanding “bull’s-eye” rash, while anaplasmosis usually presents as a flu-like illness without a rash, frequently with a low blood cell count. People can also be infected with both at once.

Important: This article is general information, not medical advice. If you develop an unexplained fever, flu-like symptoms, or feel unwell after possible tick exposure, please see a doctor promptly and mention that you spend time outdoors in a tick-endemic area.

The role of pest control in reducing ticks

Ticks don’t live on your lawn by accident. Ticks need moisture, shade, and hosts. Understanding where they thrive is the foundation of effective tick control on any Ontario property.

Blacklegged ticks concentrate in:

• Leaf litter and tall grass.
• Wooded areas and the brushy “transition zone” where your lawn meets trees or a ravine.
• Shady, humid, low-lying spots that stay damp.
• Areas frequented by hosts. These hosts can include animals like white-footed mice, chipmunks, and deer whom can carry ticks onto your property.

A licensed pest control provider approaches ticks through integrated pest management (IPM) rather than a single spray. The process typically includes:

1. Property inspection to identify tick “hot zones”. These hot zones are usually yard edges, wood piles, stone walls, and wooded borders rather than the open, sunny middle of a lawn.
2. Targeted perimeter treatments using approved acaricides applied precisely to those high-risk zones, where the majority of yard ticks live.
3. Host and habitat management advice, since reducing rodent harbourage and moisture does as much long-term good as any single application.
4. Timing around the tick season. Ontario blacklegged ticks are active whenever temperatures are above freezing, with peak activity in spring and fall.

A realistic expectation: professional treatment can significantly knock down the tick population in the treated zones of your yard, but no treatment makes a property 100% tick-free, and it doesn’t replace personal precautions like tick checks. Think of professional treatment as one strong layer in a multi-layer defence but it is most effective when combined with the DIY habits below.

DIY ways to get rid of ticks (and keep them away)

Plenty of tick control is squarely in the DIY zone. Here’s what actually works, we've split the DIY methods into yard tactics and personal protection.

Make your yard less tick-friendly

• Keep grass mowed short. Ticks avoid dry, sunny, closely cut lawns.
• Clear leaf litter, brush, and tall weeds, especially along fences and yard edges.
• Create a barrier. A 1-metre-wide strip of wood chips or gravel between your lawn and any wooded or brushy area helps stop ticks from migrating in.
• Move play structures, patios, and seating away from the yard’s edge and into sunny, open areas.
• Discourage rodents and deer. Store woodpiles neatly and off the ground, secure garbage and bird seed, and remove plants that attract deer near the house.
• Consider tick tubes. These are cardboard tubes filled with permethrin-treated cotton that mice collect for nesting; the treatment kills ticks on the mice. It’s a well-established DIY IPM tool. Please follow the product label exactly.

Protect yourself and your family

The Public Health Agency of Canada and the doctors quoted in the CMAJ coverage recommend:

• Use an approved insect repellent containing DEET or Icaridin on exposed skin.
• Do a full tick check every day after being outdoors start with yourself, your kids, and your pets. Don’t skip awkward spots because ticks like to hide behind knees, in the groin, around the waist, in the hairline, and on the back. Pro tip: always have someone help check hard-to-see areas.
• Bathe or shower young children daily in tick season. It’s an easy way to spot and wash off unattached ticks.
• Removing a tick within about 24 hours dramatically lowers your risk. A tick generally has to be attached for 24–36 hours to transmit Lyme; the transmission window for anaplasmosis isn’t fully established, but pulling a tick off within a day makes infection very unlikely.

How to safely remove an attached tick correctly

1. Use fine-point tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible.
2. Pull straight out, slowly and steadily — without twisting or jerking.
3. Wash the bite area with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
4. Photograph the tick and submit it to eTick.ca to have the species identified. There is an official Android and iOS app available to download. eTick.ca is a tool that supports Canada’s tick-monitoring efforts.
5. Watch for symptoms over the following weeks and see a doctor if you develop a rash, fever, or flu-like illness.

What NOT to do with ticks

Skip the folk remedies, they can actually raise your risk by making the tick regurgitate into the wound:

• Don’t burn the tick with a match.
• Don’t smother it with petroleum jelly, nail polish, or essential oils.
• Don’t twist, squeeze, or crush its body.

The bottom line about ticks

The new CMAJ case report is a clear signal that tick-borne illness in Ontario is growing and diversifying beyond Lyme disease. The good news is that anaplasmosis is highly treatable when caught early. The ticks that spread it are very manageable with the right mix of prevention.

For most Ontario households, the strongest protection is a combination of the three: a tick-aware yard, daily personal checks, and professional treatment of your property’s high-risk zones during tick season.