Tick season is getting off to an early start, courtesy of a mild winter, according to a recent St. Louis Post Dispatch article. (Photo by Missouri Department of Conservation)

Folks heading outdoors to enjoy the early spring weather should be aware that they’re not the only ones taking advantage of the warmer temperatures. Tick season is getting off to an early start, courtesy of a mild winter, according to a recent St. Louis Post Dispatch article.

The warmer weather has given a head start to honeysuckle, a non-native invasive plant species that provides breeding grounds for ticks, Robert Marquis, professor of biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, told the Post-Dispatch.

“It’s always the first species to put out new leaves in the spring,” Marquis said. The theory is that deer like to sleep on the honeysuckle, attracting the ticks.

“What the experiments say is that your chances of contracting tick-borne disease are five to eight times greater if you’re walking through honeysuckle than walking through a non-honeysuckle infested area,” Marquis added.