[Translated from French]

Montrealers must now share their picnics and walks with some new parasitic neighbours: ticks. It is a presence that even the most city-bound residents will have to get used to, as these ticks are not about to go away any time soon, according to ecologists.

“We can’t get rid of them; it’s inevitable,” Jacques Brodeur, an ecologist and researcher at the University of Montreal, states bluntly. Ticks have arrived in Montreal, and it will not be possible to dislodge them, he believes.

Gone are the days when these ticks were mainly found in the tall grass of the Montérégie region. The tiny creatures are now everywhere, from the Outaouais to the Chaudière-Appalaches region, including major urban centres. Particularly in less well-maintained parks, Mr. Brodeur points out.

Why should we be concerned? By attaching themselves to their human host to feed on blood, the ticks can transmit, among other things, Lyme disease, but also other bacteria.

Since 2024, the whole of Montreal has been considered to be a zone where there is a “[significant] risk” of contracting Lyme disease. Before then, the risk was “present,” but limited.

It is the increased presence of urban ticks that has raised the risk of contracting the disease, explains the researcher. “Ticks are more abundant on the island than they used to be. We find them in the parks of Mont Royal, in urban woodlands, along the Rivière des Prairies, along the river, and even in public gardens.”