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Public Service Announcement (ticks)


Greg2dot0

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Just a reminder, that with the warm winter, that the TICKS are active.

 

After dealing with Lyme last summer, we have become very aware of ticks. Mrs. Resolution and I had to remove more ticks from ourselves yesterday after a trek through Watchung Reservation then we did in the middle of summer.

 

From what we have learned, ticks can be active if the temprature is above 32 degrees.

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As a naturalist for the State of NJ I thought I would let you all know that Ticks are out and about ALL YEAR!!!!!

 

To answer the Question

Where do ticks go during the winter months?

 

Nowhere!

 

* They are protected from the cold in tall grass, leaf litter, woods, shrubs, etc.

* They die at the end of their two-year life cycle.

* Adult males die once they mate. (on a deer in late fall) Young males feed for TWO years.

* Adult females die once they lay their eggs. (early spring) Young Will feed until they are adults in the second year. ( Feeding for TWO years)

* Those ticks that have not found suitable hosts continue searching for a blood meal needed to complete their life cycle throughout the winter. ( THEY jump on anything warm)

 

They will continue to feed all winter!!!!!

 

It is a misnomer to say "They've been out for a couple of weeks now..." also it is inaccurate to say "with the warm winter, that the TICKS are active." THEY ARE ACTIVE ALL YEAR!!!!! ALWAYS, ALWAYS, BE PREPARED FOR TICKS ALL YEAR!!!!!!

Edited by chstress53
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And we thought we'd be OK in the winter. Well, duh! I knew we kept the bug spray in the car for something. Thanks for the info.

 

Grateful that when we hike in Texas we don't have to worry about lyme -- fire ants? yes! Ah well -- can't have it all.

 

Can the ticks get you in the snow???? Hummm :o

 

 

Yes they are out in the snow, hiding under brush, leaves, dry grass etc, when a warm body walks past they kinda jump to get a meal. Remember that the adult females needs blood to lay eggs in a month or so. So yes they are feeding.

 

Snow also brings out the snow fleas. So always, always use spray . Our hiking clothes are always pretreated by washing them in a repellant. To prevent ticks from jumping on the clothes. Along with spraying ourselves. just before enter the woods etc.

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You know what really TICKs me off is that I had put off going after several caches for this very reason. I have hunted and crawled through all sorts of unfriendly areas and nothing but being cut up. I head out in early January, walk less than 100 yards through some light brush and encounter my very first tick - not one but 6, go figure.

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Fleas jump. Ticks don't. They hang from the end of leaves etc with the legs extended out and then when the host brushes against them they grab on.

 

I heard they are inactive below 40 degrees. Is this true?

 

Being cold blooded, I imagine they don't move quite as quickly when the temps are below freezing.

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Remember, I said "kinda jump", as the result is the same. alan2 is accurate as the have their legs extended when they are at the end of brush etc and they do attach themselves onto you as you pass by. Their legs have little barbs on them that grab onto things, as soon as it is hooked they appear to jump as they are propelled forward.

Lymes it is true is most common in summers end from the larval stage but can be transmitted from other ticks at all stages

But Lymes is not the only thing to be aware of with ticks there is Babesia Infection most prevalent in the Central states but is migrating Eastward and is a disease that is active in summer within ticks but once a tick gets this it transmits when ever it bites something..

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is caused by infection with a tick-borne virus (Nairovirus) Usually only in Europe, but there have been reported cases in NJ & CT

Ehrlichiosis all over the United States where Ticks are found and in JApan and the carriers are all ticks

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is the most severe and most frequently reported rickettsial illness in the United States and prevalent in NJ ( My son caught this in DEC when he was a teenager)) also in more than one variety of Ticks

Southern Tick-Associated Rash Only from the Lone Star Tick which is more common in NJ than the deer ticks

Relapsing Fever occurs all over where ticks are found but is a spring virus

Rickettsial or Typhus Infections can be caught anytime you are bitten from an infected tick, any time of year

Bartonella is another disease it is similar to Cat Scratch fever but is transmitted by ticks

then there is Tularemia

Then there is Tick Paralysis which occurs worldwide and is caused by the introduction of a neurotoxin elaborated into humans during attachment of and feeding by the female of several tick species ALL YEAR. In North America, tick paralysis occurs most commonly in the Rocky Mountain and northwestern regions of the United States and in western Canada. Most cases have been reported among girls aged less than 10 years during April-June, when nymphs and mature wood ticks are most prevalent (2) but is the 8th most common in NJ This is why I treat my familys clothes when I wash them. Then a spray when we are out ALL YEAR. It is better to be safe then sorry. Yes most cases of illness are caught in the summer but there have been reported cases of all these disease YEAR ROUND!!!STAY SAFE!!

Edited by chstress53
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Ticks are the devil incarnate. I had never experienced a tick bite, ever in my life. I was raised camping, running through the woods, rolling in leaves, climbing trees, in shorts, in sandals, even barefoot. Then last year I got my first tick; not once, but many times, over several months. I am convinced there is something different going on. Can anyone here tell me why all of a sudden ticks are a bigger problem than they used to? Are we living in the end times or something? We must be, because Jack Van Impe said so.

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Not Global warming but the natural cylces of an Oak tree. Back in the 60's the acorn crops were consistently low. Now they have been an upswing in acorns. The years we have a record acorn crop the next year we have more mice , more mice- more deer, more deer well more ticks. It is very compicated to explain. But trust me>

 

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Acorns, Mice, Ticks = Lyme Disease

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Acorns, Mice, Ticks = Lyme Disease

Secrets of the Woods: Acorns, Biodiversity, and Lyme Disease

It has long been known that the forest-living mouse carries a spiral-shaped microbe called Borrelia burgdorferi. This "spirocete" causes Lyme disease. As the population of mice increases the incidence of Lyme disease outbreaks increase. Tick larvae that first feed on mice, eventually spread the disease to the human population through the deer.

Acorns are an important food source for many forest animals, including these mice. Genetic and climatic factors cause oak forests to vary in the number of acorns that fall to the ground each year. This is called a "mast" crop. Mouse populations will increase or decrease along with the size of the mast crop. Large crops of acorns in the fall lead to a booming mouse population the following summer.

The National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases suggest that a bumper crop of acorns may result in "100 times more mice" than observed in years when the acorn crop is low. More mice increase the number of infected ticks by providing tick larvae with more opportunities to pick up Borrelia during feeding. These larvae then develop into infected nymphs and, ultimately, adult ticks.

Edited by chstress53
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A recent paper in Science presents evidence that mast production in eastern United States oak forests is directly linked to levels of gypsy moth outbreaks and Lyme disease. The paper describes how researchers set up experiments that could control the levels of acorns and mice on experimental plots. The results indicated that acorn levels determine the population levels of white-footed mice and white-tailed deer in oak forests. Results also indicated that mice eat gypsy moth pupae and can thereby control the severity of gypsy moth outbreak. For example, the researchers found about 45 times more pupae and moth egg masses in plots with fewer mice.

 

Mice are carriers of the Lyme disease spirochete, and mice in acorn-rich plots did have 40 percent more tick larvae than mice in other plots. As of yet, no direct measurements have been made to verify that more infected juvenile ticks exist on the high-acorn plots the following summer. However, it is likely that mast production can be used as a leading indicator for Lyme disease risk

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A recent paper in Science presents evidence that mast production in eastern United States oak forests is directly linked to levels of gypsy moth outbreaks and Lyme disease. The paper describes how researchers set up experiments that could control the levels of acorns and mice on experimental plots. The results indicated that acorn levels determine the population levels of white-footed mice and white-tailed deer in oak forests. Results also indicated that mice eat gypsy moth pupae and can thereby control the severity of gypsy moth outbreak. For example, the researchers found about 45 times more pupae and moth egg masses in plots with fewer mice.

 

Mice are carriers of the Lyme disease spirochete, and mice in acorn-rich plots did have 40 percent more tick larvae than mice in other plots. As of yet, no direct measurements have been made to verify that more infected juvenile ticks exist on the high-acorn plots the following summer. However, it is likely that mast production can be used as a leading indicator for Lyme disease risk

 

The study also shows how long term research in ecology reveals Complex connections that effect us all. Deforestation of the Northeast during the 18 & 19 Century resulted in the near elimination of Oak trees, then White footed Deer mice and almost the deer population and also of ticks. This is why when we were younger we did not encounter them much. However, the more recent abandonment of farms in rural areas of the Northeast transformed the landscape. We now have an Eastern Deciduous prdominately Oak Pine Forest instead of a Pitch Pine Forest. The invasion by the deer tick of this increasinly reforested region initiates the current resurgence in Oak Trees. ( If they have a davasting Fire in the Forests it will maintain more Pines and not Oaks. It is Not Globally warmeing but a failure of our fore fathers and sometimes ourselves to see all the connections. When we save a farm we keep out oak trees and mice & deer and ticks. Controlling the deer population will not work. It must be the environment the oak tree lives in.

Edited by chstress53
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