No, not every tick carries the Lyme disease bacteria. Ticks only pick up the disease if their host animal has it. Most ticks only live on 3 hosts in their lifetime. If none of the animals they attach themselves to have it then the tick will not pick up the bacteria. It varies by state by how many ticks carry the disease. In Minnesota, the black-legged tick or deer tick is the only tick that carries the bacteria. 1 in 3 adult deer ticks have it and 1 in 5 nymphs. To help identify what a deer tick looks like visit our Tick Page
To learn more about Lyme disease in Minnesota click the link to the Minnesota Department of Health
