The Atlantic: Kill the Ticks

"Kill the Ticks" — The Atlantic, August 2026

A sharp and wide-ranging argument that America's tick problem has outgrown individual prevention and demands a coordinated public response — on par with the mosquito-control campaigns of the early 20th century. Drawing on tick researchers from Columbia, Tufts, UMass, Yale, and Michigan State, the piece surveys the full range of potential solutions: deer culling, deer vasectomies, tick-killing drugs delivered through bait, anti-tick vaccines, and targeted pesticides — and makes the case that addressing the underlying ecology, not just the diseases ticks cause, is the only path forward.

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