Don't count on any freezing to knock down the tick activity. Late fall always sees a large pulse of deer tick (black-legged tick) activity, especially in November, well after hard freezes. Adults are still active but also loads of smaller nymphs are out there. This is similar to the early spring pulse of deer ticks. Our dog over the years has had occasional ticks even in the middle of winter. Whenever you are contacting brushy vegetation this time of year (or most anytime of year) be sure to check yourself thoroughly for ticks. I just pulled an embedded adult deer tick from my shin two days ago.