Dutch people remove ticks faster than they did 10 years ago. This is according to research by Tekenradar.nl. In 2024, half of all ticks were removed within 11 hours. In 2014, this was within 14 hours. Removing ticks within a shorter amount of time is better. The sooner a tick is removed, the smaller the risk of contracting Lyme disease.
For more than 10 years, thousands of people from all over the Netherlands have reported tick bites at Tekenradar.nl. Since 2013, people reporting bites have been asked how long the tick was attached to the skin. According to these reports, half of all ticks were removed within 11 hours in 2024. A quarter of people removed the tick within four hours. For another quarter, the tick was attached to the skin for more than 24 hours, in some cases even several days, before being removed.
Ten years ago, it took longer for ticks to be removed. Back then, half of all ticks were removed within 14 hours of the bite. A quarter were removed within five hours, but another quarter of people left ticks attached to the skin for more than 26 hours.
A positive development, but…
The sooner a tick is removed, the smaller the risk of contracting Lyme disease. ‘The fact that we are removing ticks faster is therefore something to be celebrated,’ says RIVM researcher Kees van den Wijngaard. ‘However, there is still room for improvement, as we have seen no clear further reductions in the time before removal since 2016. The advice therefore remains to remove ticks as soon as possible in the event of a tick bite. This requires ticks to be noticed in time. That is why we encourage people to make it a habit to always check for ticks after spending time outdoors in nature.
Drenthe in first place again
In 2024, Dutch people reported 6,035 tick bites in total. Most reports (1,023 tick bites) came from the province of Gelderland. ‘But we also received hundreds of reports from other provinces,’ says biologist Arnold van Vliet of Wageningen University. ‘Just like in previous years, the province of Drenthe had by far the most reports per 100,000 inhabitants. Moreover, at 99 per 100,000, this number was clearly larger than last year’s 71. Gelderland was in second place with 48 and Groningen in third with 45 reports per 100,000 inhabitants. With 12 reports of tick bites per 100,000 inhabitants, South Holland had the lowest number of reports.’
Significant increase in the coming two months
Due to the rising temperatures, the number of tick bites has slowly increased over the past couple of weeks. The numbers are still trailing somewhat behind those from last year. This is likely because temperatures in the months of February and March in 2024 were among the highest ever recorded. The number of tick bites will increase significantly in the coming two months. The size of the tick population, which is a factor in how many people will be bitten, is still unclear. Our behaviour in green spaces plays a role as well. This will depend to some extent on the weather.
Report tick bites at Tekenradar.nl
Anyone can report tick bites and symptoms of Lyme disease at Tekenradar.nl. ‘This will show us where and when people are most likely to be bitten by ticks,’ Van den Wijngaard explains. ‘As a result, we can help protect people against them.’ Since 2022, we have asked people on a weekly basis whether they have or have not been bitten by a tick in the preceding week. This gives us a more accurate picture of the development of the risk of tick bites throughout the year.