An online conspiracy theory suggested planes were dropping ticks over Ontario. Here is the real reason why there are more ticks this year.

A deer tick is seen under a microscope in the entomology lab at the University of Rhode Island in South Kingstown, R.I., in March 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Victoria Arocho

Social media posts shared a rumour originating from an anonymous forum that claimed Ontario pilots were being hired to spread ticks from the air.

The posts fuelled a conspiracy theory that the ticks were being dropped with the intention of infecting more people with Lyme disease.

While it’s true Ontario has seen an increased presence of blacklegged ticks and more cases of Lyme disease in humans, there is no evidence of the ticks being dropped by plane, and a public health expert points to environmental factors including climate change as contributing to the increase.

The claim

“I work for a private charter company in Ontario Canada, We are paid to spread ticks by plane,” reads a March 16 post to a conspiracy theory forum.

The anonymous user claims their company receives boxes containing millions of ticks, and gets paid to disperse them over the same regions of Ontario in spring and fall.

“Last spring the ticks dispersed were mostly American dog ticks. This year they are all deer ticks,” the user wrote.

A TikTok from May 17 called the anonymous poster a “whistleblower,” in a post with more than 205,000 plays. The video compared the forum poster’s story to unfounded claims in the United States about boxes of ticks being found by farmers in their fields.

Canadian X accounts further amplified the story. Though the accounts and the original forum post didn’t specify why the pilots were supposedly hired to drop ticks, commenters pointed to related theories about companies intentionally spreading disease-ridden ticks to further their own aims.

They include the theory that Pfizer is spreading ticks that carry Lyme disease so that people are forced to buy its vaccine.

The facts

There are no verified instances of pilots dropping boxes of ticks from airplanes, and the original forum post did not provide evidence to support the claim.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture, which represents around 38,000 farmers and industry workers, said it has not received any comments or reports of farmers finding tick boxes in their fields.

“Box-like traps are commonly used in pest monitoring and surveillance programs to collect data on insect populations and species. It is possible that farmers or members of the public may occasionally notice these devices in or near agricultural areas and not know what they are,” the federation said in an emailed response to questions.

It added that farmers would typically be informed if such equipment were to be placed on their private land.

The federation noted that Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources distributes edible rabies vaccine baits to wildlife each August via helicopter or airplane.

“We mention this simply to provide some context and possibly explain where the confusion and conspiracy theory came (from), not legitimize it,” its statement reads.

Fact-checking publication Snopes found no evidence to support claims of U.S. farmers reporting boxes of ticks in fields in Missouri.

Dr. Curtis Russell, a senior program specialist with Public Health Ontario, said overall trends suggest Ontario is seeing a rise in blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, the species that can spread Lyme disease.

Russell said climate change plays a role, because warmer seasons allow the ticks to become established in areas where they weren’t previously present.

“We’re seeing them spread in habitats where they can exist well,” he said. Those habitats include wooded areas and lakeshores and riverbanks.

The previous season’s weather can have an effect on tick trends year-to-year, Russell said; for example, an especially cold winter or dry summer could reduce the next year’s tick population.

Migratory birds also play a role in spreading ticks, he added.

Pfizer’s Lyme vaccine is still in its clinical trial phase. Russell noted there is no approved vaccine for Lyme disease, and that it’s important for people to take personal protection measures such as tucking in their clothing and wearing insect repellent while outdoors.

“We do have ticks here in Ontario. They are spreading. But they do like that brushy, wooded area. If they were to stay on a soccer field or something they would dry up and die,” he said. “So enjoy the outdoors.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2026.

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press