Ticks are back!

[jrichard]

What preventative measures do you take?

I use the following tactics:

1) spray deet on my bare legs and ankles -- I'm surprised by how many I've found that have gone down into my shoes; I pulled 1/2 dozen out of my shoes from a half day hike around a lake
2) tuck my pants into my socks
3) try to wear light colored pants so I can scrape them off -- unfortunately, these can be hard to find in stores - and hard to hike in during warm weather
4) check my legs for ticks every ten minutes or so
5) check my waistband, behind my ears, under my arms, etc... during lunch/dinner breaks

I can't always hike in pants due to the heat. When I'm wearing shorts, I spray my legs with deet and check them more frequently.

I also try to strategize a bit. I avoid bushwacking during tick season, try to hike only wide trails. Ideally I hike at midday figuring that someone else has already been up and has collected all the ticks.


Any other ideas?

 

[Barry Sr]

Spent all weekend sleeping under the stars in Franklin, MA while we established a trail and campsite for some underpriviledged kids as part of a summer camp.

We cleared loads of brush and even though I gave my lecture about tick prevention and such, we saw no ticks at all.

Luck was good

 

[jrichard]

nylon

I've heard rumors that nylon is too slippery for ticks to crawl on. I believed this at first, but then I put it to the test.

In my little experiment, I used one bare arm and one with covered with a nylon (pertex) windshirt . During the test, my arms were held vertically. The ticks crawled up my bare arm quite quickly. They crawled up the nylon covered arm almost as fast. They wouldn't fall off the nylon (or my bare arm) just by shaking it, but it might have been just a bit easier to flick them off the nylon.

All in all, they could climb pretty effectively on both arms.

Of course, it's better to have them visible on the outside of the nylon instead of hidden and drinking blood, so I'd still suggest covering up/tucking in.


[Disclaimer: Some ticks were harmed during this experiment]

 

[marty]

What preventative measures do you take?

The ones that you listed are exactly what I use. As far as DEET goes, I have learned the hard way that products with lower concentrations of DEET(Skintastic, Skeedaddle, etc.) are much less effective with deer ticks.

I now only use DEET products with a concentration of 20% or greater when hiking in tick country.

Marty

 

[DougPaul]

Any other ideas?

Permethrin on clothing, DEET on skin.

I put permethrin on my clothing before hiking (lasts several weeks) and DEET on my skin as needed.

Doug

 

[Chip]

Hey There;
I used to work for a non prof called the Institute of Ecosystem Studies; and there is a scientist there who studies the ecology of Lyme Disease.
He's shown that in years when Oaks are stressed they give off more acorns, which in turn feed more deer and mice, which in turn mean more deer ticks and ticks distributed over a broader range.
He's also shown in another study the impact of habitat fragmentation on deer tick populations, and this works by altering the diversity of the reservoir hosts for the ticks -- he found decreases in mammals that ticks would also normally live on that don't also harbor the bacteria that causes Lyme, in other words, so many mice and so few racoons, possums squeezed into smaller and smaller habitats, equals a greater proportion of the deer ticks infected with Lyme.
Here's a link to alot of info on why there are so many ticks and Lyme here in the NE, surprisingly, it all goes back to the Gypsy Moth invasions of the 80's that had such a huge impact on our Oaks.
http://www.ecostudies.org/IES_lyme_disease.html

Sabrina

I'm reading your link now about the mouse vectors, but this seems a logical explanation also, especially around here;

"Named after Old Lyme, Connecticut, Lyme disease, a bacterial infection is transmitted by the bite of the deer tick--though it took many years to figure that out. In the northeastern U.S., a particular set of biological and environmental circumstances have converged to create the perfect conditions for a Lyme disease epidemic.

Though deforestation is commonly linked to outbreaks of infectious disease, in the case of Lyme disease reforestation is the culprit. Farmland has reverted to small patches of forest, creating ideal habitat for deer. Deer populations have skyrocketed, and so have the ticks'."

 

[Chip]

"Past research has shown that the percentage of Lyme-infected ticks is higher in small forest fragments (less than 3 acres). Forest fragments of this size also are less likely to house viable populations of mammalian predators. When they drop out of the environment we may be losing an important ally in the fight against Lyme disease and other rodent-borne zoonotic diseases."

I don't know about mouse populations, they aren't easily observable. The dramatic increase in deer population is. I think predator's populations are way up also. I guess it doesn't matter where the Lyme comes from, but una_dogger's linked study seemed to completely ignore deer, and I'm not sure why.

 

[sleeping bear]

Found: Female Deer Tick in Concord, Mass

Went for a walk around camp today after lunch. When I can back in I found a tick crawling on my arm. After a little internet investigation I decided it's a femal deer tick. It's now well preserved between two peices of scotch tape for future reference.

 

[jrichard]

Found: Female Deer Tick in Concord, Mass

The ovipositing female deer ticks are ugly. They look like a miniature from the set of "Aliens". And it seems like they are the first kind I see in spring. Imagine pulling this off the kids:

http://www.insectimages.org/browse/imgdown.cfm?img=1316096&res=3

 

[jrichard]

Permethrin on clothing, DEET on skin.
Doug

Permethrin seems like a good idea. I'd heard of it before, but I wondered 1) where to buy it and 2) how safe it is (around kids, pets, etc...).

 

[DougPaul]

Permethrin seems like a good idea. I'd heard of it before, but I wondered 1) where to buy it and 2) how safe it is (around kids, pets, etc...).

REI carries it.
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Pro...89&parent_category_rn=4500561&vcat=REI_SEARCH

You spray it on your clothing and let it dry. (Then you put the clothing on...)

Seems safe to humans when properly used. (It doesn't work on skin--it is inactivated by a reaction with some chemical on skin.) Poisonous to fish. Don't know about other pets, but I wouldn't use it on them.

Doug

 

[Quietman]

I picked up 5 female deer ticks on my noon walk in Milford, NH today. I checked myself before I got in my car and found none. While sitting at my desk, pulled two off my sleeve, one off my arm, and one off my chair. Checked the car and found one on my seat. This the first time with deer ticks for me. The 20 or more other times were all dog ticks. Here are a couple of great sites for identification.
Iowa Univ. Ticks

UNH Ticks

 

[una_dogger]

[COLOR=DarkRed. I think predator's populations are way up also. I guess it doesn't matter where the Lyme comes from, but una_dogger's linked study seemed to completely ignore deer, and I'm not sure why.[/QUOTE]

Hey Chip,
I'd have to go back and read that -- but I suspect that the fragmentation study was about reservior hosts, and deer are not hosts in the true sense but more of a "distribution system" for moving ticks. Still they are very important vectors. Much of the time ecologists have to take a reductionist approach and then build individual studies back together -- breaking things down to understand the individual contribution to a very dynamic and hard to measure process.

I think it goes without question that deer play a huge role in the spread of lyme disease to new areas by moving ticks. The fragmentation study I thought was really cool because it proved a real link between land use and increasing the incidence of lyme infection. To me, that was a landmark study because it gives much more clout to those who are trying to reduce the size of sprawl developments; which here in Dutchess County where the study took place, have been booming out of control for several years now -- by showing a very quick increase in the number of infected ticks due to loss of habitat caused by subsequent decreases in wildlife diversity in the new patches of land (the developments) -- that information has alot of impact --- or I think it should. Its not like other environmental projections that are modeled and will take years or generations to reach the outcome of the model, this study showed that the kind of disturbance being generated by land use had a nearly immediate effect.

 

[arghman]

aiggghh, saw my first deer ticks today (have seen wood ticks frequently in past years but never deer ticks), lots of them , managed to sweep them all off my clothing en route back to my car, fortunately (double-checked when I got home, none on my skin). They are larger than I expected, most were 1/8" across or so including the legs. I'm sure this dry warm winter/spring, combined w/ last year's acorn crop (lots of deer sign today), have led to a larger-than-normal tick population.

an oddly practical question: do they withstand the washer/dryer process? I really don't want to have to pick through my wool socks looking for ticks.

 

[jrichard]

an oddly practical question: do they withstand the washer/dryer process? I really don't want to have to pick through my wool socks looking for ticks.

I understand they can live though the washer, but not the dryer.

I feel for you. I actually haven't seen any ticks at all yet this season (knock on wood) although apparently folks to the west and east of me have. I limit my runs though the woods in spring to wide-ish woods roads though. No trails.

And are you sure these are deer ticks and not nymphs of another tick?

 

[arghman]

And are you sure these are deer ticks and not nymphs of another tick?

Fairly sure. That reddish semicircle on the hind end is a key.

 

[Waumbek]

Ticks are out here big-time this week. Doing some yard work today, I picked up five that I know about so far. Peepers are out, bugs on the windshield, daffodils, and lots of moose wandering around the popular road-side wallows at night, all signs of spring. And catkins!

 

[jjo]

I hike Mt. Wachusett pretty much every day, but ...

Used to live in Shrewsbury, Mass (now in Illinois) and have climbed Wachusett more times than I can count. Good country and quickly accessible. I envy you now..

 

[beverly]

Ticks everywhere

Ticks are out in force in the Albany area (I've been out with the dogs in East Greenbush, Voorheesville, Thacher Park and Partridge Run in Berne).

Does anyone know if Picaridin (now in Cutter Advanced) is effective against ticks? It's supposed to be on par with DEET with respect to being an insect repellent, but I'm not sure how it stacks up against ticks. I just bought some Cutter Advanced and I can't find any information as to it's efficacy against ticks. I've been pulling ticks off the dogs and me for weeks.

 

[Flatlander_SG]

jjo...this is so strange, I also lived in Shrewsbury, MA for many years prior to moving to Westminster.....what a small world! It is great living within a couple of miles of Mt. Wachusett. It is a nice little mountain.

Ginny