Interesting Article (Blacklegged Ticks)

NJChileHead

Explorer
Dec 22, 2011
831
628
I came across this article about blacklegged (deer) ticks and their questing behavior in Northeastern and Midwestern vs. Southeastern United States. It seems that there is a correlation between the higher incidences of Lyme disease, and aggressive questing on top of leaf litter. I think that this answers my question as to why I find black legged ticks crawling up my leg when walking down a well-manicured trail in the pines with nothing but pine needles at my feet!

Something about this article also got me thinking: on another thread about ticks, someone mentioned that the incidences of Lyme in the Pine Barrens are less than what you may find up in the Northern counties. I always wondered why there were so many ticks in the pines, and then to find out that there is a lower incidence of Lyme baffled me. Could it be that the fence lizards (not a Lyme reservoir) are picking up a good number of the deer ticks and acting as a host (and not passing Lyme along)?

Here is the article:

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/lyme-disease-carrying-ticks-are-now-half-all-us-counties

The scientific journal article in question:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127450
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Something about this article also got me thinking: on another thread about ticks, someone mentioned that the incidences of Lyme in the Pine Barrens are less than what you may find up in the Northern counties. I always wondered why there were so many ticks in the pines, and then to find out that there is a lower incidence of Lyme baffled me. Could it be that the fence lizards (not a Lyme reservoir) are picking up a good number of the deer ticks and acting as a host (and not passing Lyme along)?

Here is the article:

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/lyme-disease-carrying-ticks-are-now-half-all-us-counties

The scientific journal article in question:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127450

Site with 2010 numbers by county;

http://www.lymediseaseassociation.o...010-nj-lyme-case-numbers-by-county&Itemid=148
 
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h2ochild

Scout
Nov 24, 2010
83
57
68
Bass River Township
Because of all of the ticks I had been bitten by, and never developed Lymes, I reasoned that some of us might be immune or developing immunity. Last summer needing 8 weeks of antibiotic treatment to get rid of the disease...cured that supposition.
 
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