Feeding area: ticks are exploring new territories
In some regions, the tick activity season has stretched to 7-8 months, the interviewed biologists told the editorial board. The second peak of arthropod activity has now begun in Russia. At the same time, different species spread in regions atypical for them, carrying infections. Among them is tick—borne encephalitis, which affects the brain and spinal cord. Dangerous arachnids have already appeared even in places that were previously considered safe. In addition, they are moving further north and exploring mountainous areas. The reasons for the migration of ticks and the diseases they carry are described in the Izvestia article.
Where the ticks attack
Specialists of the insurance company "Consent" and the clinic "Medsi" noted that the situation is changing in the central regions of the country. Cases of infection vectors have been recorded in the Moscow, Leningrad, Tver and Yaroslavl regions.
According to Shokhrukhbek Igamberdiyev, a general practitioner at the clinic, ticks have been exploring new territories in recent years.
—Mild winters, early and warm springs, and an increase in average annual temperatures allow parasites to survive in previously uninhabited areas," the specialist said. "They're heading north and into the mountains. The taiga tick, for example, is now found in the Arkhangelsk region, Komi, Karelia, and also higher up in the Altai and Sayan mountains.
In the first half of 2026, the specialists of "Consent" recorded appeals from citizens from different parts of the country. Residents of Udmurtia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk, Kostroma and Kirov regions most often sought medical help.
Olga Kuptsova, Deputy Director of the Methodology and Underwriting Department of Rosgosstrakh Personal Insurance, noted that the number of applications after tick bites increased by 26% compared to last year.
"In the summer, the most such cases were recorded in the Novosibirsk region — it accounted for 24% of all bites," she added. — This is followed by the Krasnoyarsk Territory — 12%, the Republic of Karelia — 11%, Moscow, as well as the Moscow and Kostroma regions — 7% each.
According to Invitro, this summer the total number of tick bites in the country decreased by 9.1% compared to the same period in 2025. The most noticeable dynamics is in the Urals: minus 38.6% year-on-year. Excluding this region, the indicator, on the contrary, increased by 7.7%. Positive dynamics was noted in nine out of ten macroregions, and there were no changes in another one. Moscow became the leader in the number of such cases: in 2025, the Urals took the first place with a share of 36.3%, and in 2026, the capital accounted for 35%, the company noted.
Statistics from the Hemotest laboratory show that 7% more arthropods were brought to the study this summer than in the same period last year. At the same time, the peak of applications may still be ahead: in September 2025, 30% more ticks were submitted for research than in August.
"The genetic material of the causative agent of ixodes tick-borne borreliosis was found in 20% of the ticks studied. Another 3% were found to have the causative agent of anaplasmosis, and 1% had ehrlichiosis, they said. — In addition, during the summer, the tick-borne encephalitis virus was detected in 23 of the ticks studied. Most of these cases occurred in the Arkhangelsk, Chelyabinsk and Moscow regions."
At the same time, Rospotrebnadzor noted an improvement in the situation. The head of the department, Anna Popova, in an interview with Izvestia, said that there are fewer cases of tick-borne infections.
— Much attention is paid to the so-called acaricide treatment. Everyone is fighting ticks," she stressed. — By the way, mowing the grass is necessary not only for our aesthetic pleasure, but also so that ticks do not live there. These measures are certainly producing results. But what is also very important is the awareness of citizens and our sanitary and educational work. The number of patients who apply for tick suction is increasing. People today already know how to collect a tick, how to bring it to the laboratory. The large number of appeals indicates that several years of close work with the population have yielded results.
Why did the ticks spread?
Ticks are active from April to October, but depending on the weather, the timing may vary slightly, said Ekaterina Demyanovskaya, an expert at the Hemotest laboratory and a neurologist.
— As long as the weather remains quite warm, the parasites continue to search for food. Therefore, in autumn, the tick can be found in the forest, in the park, in the country, in the tall grass and among the fallen leaves," she stressed. — The risk gradually decreases with the cooling, but does not disappear immediately at the end of August.
In the European part of Russia, tick activity usually occurs in two periods — spring and early summer, as well as autumn. At the same time, the autumn peak is gradually shifting to a later date and may last until November. In the spring, the ticks, depending on the region, woke up 2-4 weeks earlier, and somewhere at the end of March, biologist Dmitry Safonov told Izvestia.
— If the temperature stays around 25 degrees in summer and the humidity remains high, the ticks remain active in July and August, which is exactly what we are seeing now. This has never happened before. In some regions, the period of a possible attack has increased to 7-8 months a year," Dmitry Safonov said.
Ticks are really exploring new territories, and this is already a confirmed fact. In the North-West and Central Russia, the ranges of some species are changing. For example, the meadow tick, which was previously found only in the south, is now found in Leningrad, Novgorod and other neighboring regions, as well as in Arkhangelsk.
The taiga tick is also exploring new territories. It is widespread from the Far East to the western borders of Russia and is actively shifting to the north and west. This species carries the virus of tick-borne encephalitis, borrelia, anaplasma and Ehrlichia. The European forest tick lives in the European part of the country and in the North Caucasus and is considered the main vector of borreliosis, and can also transmit the tick-borne encephalitis virus.
The meadow tick prefers the pastures of the European part of Russia and southern Siberia. He tolerates tularemia and rickettsiosis, and in some cases, his bite can cause tick-borne paralysis. Ticks of the genus Hyalomma are found in southern Russia and can spread Crimean hemorrhagic fever, tularemia, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis and Ku fever.
According to Dmitry Safonov, this is due to the warming climate and mild winters, due to which eggs and larvae survive the cold period. And a longer summer allows ticks to go through their entire life cycle.
"At the same time, the time of tick activity shifts to daytime hours, although they used to attack more often in the morning and evening," the expert added. "They adapt well to the urban environment, so you can meet them both in the park and in the countryside. And when there is a shortage of natural hosts, ticks switch to humans and pets.
Tick-borne encephalitis is particularly dangerous because the virus can infect the brain and spinal cord, Ekaterina Demyanovskaya recalled. Immediately after the bite, there are usually no signs of illness — they appear after a while.
"The disease can begin with fever, weakness, headache, muscle aches and nausea," the doctor noted. — When the central nervous system is affected, the condition worsens rapidly: headache increases, repeated vomiting, confusion or loss of consciousness, convulsions, weakness in the arms and legs are possible.
Another common infection carried by ticks is ixodes tick—borne borreliosis, or Lyme disease. One of the characteristic symptoms is erythema migrans: a red spot in the form of a target with a bite site in the center, which gradually increases. However, this sign does not appear in all infected people.
Experts interviewed by Izvestia believe that ticks can now be found in places where they were almost absent before, and during periods when their activity was usually lower. Therefore, it is important not to forget about prevention: after walking, examine yourself and pets, use protective clothing and repellents, and seek medical help as soon as possible if bitten.
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