"C.D.C.’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" - from the NY Times article.
That must be a fun read.
That must be a fun read.
Ticks & Chiggers--a study
- Thread starter bobpbx
- Start date
Aaaarrrrgh! They're back! Started finding a few ticks on me, the dogs or the furniture one day last week. This after months of no discernable activity. So far, only medium to full size deer ticks, no nymphs.
Looked at the video teegate posted the link for; gross but great detail. Anyone else noting recent reappearance of the beasties? I live in western Cumberland County on a rural road; time to keep the grass area around the house mowed as short as possible.
There are plenty of them in my woods (not far from the Cumberland County line in Estell Manor). They have been out in earnest since late March, as I posted elsewhere. But I saw them here and there throughout the winter.
I'm probably going to do my thesis on one of these emerging diseases, so I'll get to read it plenty. Lucky me.
Speaking for southeastern Cumberland County the ticks are doing well.I"ve already fed several.
Ro picked up a nymph less than pinhead size on Wednesday in the grassy swale between our back door and preserved woods maybe 75 feet away in northwestern Leisuretown, off Rte 70 in Southampton, Burlco. She posted on Facebook a tick article in "Over 50" health newsletter.
Laurel lake Commercial twp. Mom lives in Roadstown so I"m out that way frequently too.
So here's an interesting tidbit about the invasive tick that's been all over the news: They can reproduce by parthenogenesis, just like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park. This is one of the reasons they aren't being contained. I learned a thing today.
One of my classmates works at the USDA and sent this to me today.
https://entomologytoday.org/2018/04/24/invasive-tick-persists-new-jersey/
One of my classmates works at the USDA and sent this to me today.
https://entomologytoday.org/2018/04/24/invasive-tick-persists-new-jersey/
What I find amazing is how they can expand to the size they do without bursting when they are engorged. Their skin, or whatever you call it, must be extremely pliable
.
It's very very wrinkled to allow for expansion, kind of like crepe paper.
They also actually manufacture new skin as they feed.
They also actually manufacture new skin as they feed.
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I like the other 2 articles as well. Fascinating.
https://entomologytoday.org/2018/02/27/tick-bites-tick-a-rare-case-of-hard-tick-hyperparasitism/
https://entomologytoday.org/2018/01/16/up-close-look-tiny-sensory-pits-ticks-use-smell/
Sue, what is your take on this product? I don't need it as I never see ticks in my yard. I'm just curious what your thoughts are.
https://www.amazon.com/Damminix-272...526342239&sr=8-3&keywords=damminix+tick+tubes
https://www.amazon.com/Damminix-272...526342239&sr=8-3&keywords=damminix+tick+tubes
Somewhere I read about a technique that involved soaking fabric such as towels in permethrin and wrapping them around tree trunks. The idea was that deer would rub against trees to scratch themselves and the permethrin would kill the ticks.
That one sounds dubious. I've never seen a deer do that, and on a man-made material soaked with something that smelled funny? Hmmm.
Bob, I think it's kind of a brilliant idea. I just advised my sister to get a bunch for her yard in Connecticut, they have a lot of black-legged ticks and are in the heart of Lyme territory (just east of the town of Lyme). I think they absolutely can be valuable to reducing the populations of ticks that feed on rodents as larvae but you won't get that instant gratification, especially since Ixodes ticks have a 2 year life cycle (or more!). Mostly larvae feed on rodents and this is where they pick up Lyme disease. The danger to humans is mainly nymph stages, so no larvae = no nymphs.
Boyd, my knee jerk is that I wouldn't think that permethrin on a tree would have the staying power necessary to remove or repel ticks, but I have never heard of anyone doing that and don't know anything about deer behavior. Do they spend enough time rubbing on trees to get enough exposure to the permethrin? I would think rollers or cattle rubs would be much more effective if the deer would use them.
Boyd, my knee jerk is that I wouldn't think that permethrin on a tree would have the staying power necessary to remove or repel ticks, but I have never heard of anyone doing that and don't know anything about deer behavior. Do they spend enough time rubbing on trees to get enough exposure to the permethrin? I would think rollers or cattle rubs would be much more effective if the deer would use them.
Now I have seen bears stand on two legs,lean back against a tree and do an up and down dance scratching their backs and butts. But i fear it's deer and not bears spreading ticks around South Jersey.