"The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) is forecasting a heavier tick season than in previous years, but it's not due to the unseasonably mild winter as one might expect. Rather, acorns can be blamed for the predicted surge in tick populations this year, particularly in the Northeastern U.S."

http://www.pestworld.org/news-and-views/press-releases/press-releases/acorns,-not-weather,-to-blame-for-more-ticks/