Episode Details

For decades, scientists tracking ticks, mice, and oak trees in a New York forest have uncovered a shocking twist: deer aren’t the main drivers of Lyme disease spread. It’s the tiny white-footed mice—whose populations surge with acorn harvests two years later—that fuel tick numbers. While other animals like skunks and squirrels feed ticks, they rarely pass on the bacteria. Extreme weather doesn’t kill ticks—they just hide. Meanwhile, the lone star tick is expanding its range, spreading alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to red meat, prompting states to track and report cases for the first time.

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