WAGENINGEN (ANP) –The number of reports of tick bites was higher in recent weeks than in the past two years. In early June, during the Ascension weekend, the number of reports “increased sharply” and that trend has continued, Nature Today reports.

More people were bitten by a tick in June, probably because it rained after a dry period. A total of 3,500 tick bites were reported. A third were sustained in the garden. Most people report being bitten while walking, followed by gardening.

Due to the rain, the ticks were less likely to dehydrate and they went looking for blood again. Nature Today reported on this at the time, which is why the researchers took into account an increase in the number of reports due to media attention. However, among a group of loyal reporters who report whether or not they were bitten every week, a quarter were bitten in recent weeks. That is “considerably higher” than in the previous two years.