Eau Claire (WQOW) - As the temperatures drop, your risk of contact with a tick skyrockets, and health officials say getting Lyme disease is easier than ever, even in urban areas.
The Eau Claire City-County Health Department was recently awarded a new $10,000 grant to study how common ticks are in areas you might not think of, like Carson Park and Phoenix Park, where more than half of ticks could be infected.
KT Gallagher, the environmental health supervisor at the Eau Claire City-County Health Department, said the number of Lyme disease cases is on the rise in the county. There were 54 cases of the disease in 2016, compared to just 24 cases in 2014, and now is when you're most susceptible.
"This is a great time of year for ticks to be on the move looking for a blood meal," Gallagher said. "So, as their life cycle goes through, they need to eat twice, or eat blood twice, in order to go through their molting and reproduce. So, this is the time they are looking for a meal to go."
The health department recommends you treat your clothing with tick repellent and perform daily tick checks on your body.