Rise in tick bites prompts Long Island school district to cancel outdoor recess

A Long Island school district has suspended outdoor recess and athletic activities on grass fields after an unusual number of tick bites were reported among students.

The Kings Park School District said it took the precautionary step after multiple tick bites were reported to the school nurse. 

Officials said ticks continued to be found even after grass fields were mowed and treated.

Students will have to use alternative locations while additional treatment efforts continue, according to the district.

District superintendent Timothy Eagen said the school's pest-control vendor is using an organic treatment solution, noting that New York has strict regulations governing chemical spraying on school grounds.  

The district's schools are located near the heavily wooded Nissequogue River State Park. 

Eagen said it remains unclear whether the increase in ticks is related to the recent nor'easter, the nearby wooded areas or the local deer population.

"You just never know with the diseases they carry and all of that. You don't want to take any risks," said Suffolk County resident Julia Alamo.

Health experts said the threat of tick-borne illnesses remains a concern even as summer comes to an end.

"I think on Long Island, they are all bad tick seasons at this point," said Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Children's Hospital.

Children face a heightened risk because they spend more time outdoors and are more likely to come into contact with tick habitats, Handel said.

Ticks are no longer limited to wooded areas, according to certified arborist Tom Jones of Jones Tree and Plant Care.

"The three things that bring them in are deer, mice and rabbits, and everybody on Long Island has one of those three," Jones said.

Suffolk County officials are also monitoring the spread of the lone star tick, which has continued expanding across the region.