Ticks & Chiggers--a study

[Boyd]

I believe I originally read about this back in 2006 when I first started using permethrin. It may have been some kind of university experiment? Regarding deer behavior, a couple years ago I marked the little trails on my land with pieces of wood lath driven into the ground - was a lot of fun with my granddaughter learning to read my color-coded trail map and following the markers to find some "treasures".

Anyway, I started finding a lot of these markers broken off and laying on the ground for no apparent reason. My theory is that the deer were rubbing against them. So I'm thinking that deer might be attracted to something unusal that they could rub against. Somebody posted a picture of a deer that was covered with ticks in another thread. Wouldn't they try to scratch that somehow?

 

[Boyd]

A quick Google search found a lot of links about "4 poster" bait stations to control deer ticks. I guess this is what Sue was talking about with "rollers"? https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/docs/4PosterTickBorneDisease.pdf
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"The device is comprised of a centralized bin containing whole kernel corn utilized for bait, with attached feeding stations and appendages on each side of the central bin36 (see Figure 6). The appendages hold paint roller applicators made from brous material, which rotate on PVC pipes connected to the adjacent feeding bins.36 A plate partially occludes each feeding station, forcing contact between the acaricide-charged applicators and deer as they feed36 (see Figure 7). In evidence-based literature, researchers administered a 10% permethrin formula on the rollers to target ticks attached to white-tailed deer hosts. As deer feed, the paint roller applicators transfer acaricides onto the head, neck, and ears of the deer, which disperse to the remainder of the body through self-grooming."

 

[46er]

don't know anything about deer behavior. Do they spend enough time rubbing on trees to get enough exposure to the permethrin?

They definitely rub their antlers to remove the velvet, but that's a once a year thing. Their heads probably come in contact as well as the rest of their body.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

They scent mark spots with glands under their eyes, too, so they do rub their faces on stuff, and most of the ticks are on their head, so it may be a possibility.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Our July veterinary parasitology meeting this year is dedicated to ticks and tick-borne diseases, so hopefully we will see new and cutting edge deer treatment research, which I'll pass along if anything relevant comes up.

 

[46er]

Just removed a little bugger, first of the year.

 

[bobpbx]

Our July veterinary parasitology meeting this year is dedicated to ticks and tick-borne diseases, so hopefully we will see new and cutting edge deer treatment research, which I'll pass along if anything relevant comes up.

Maybe liberal application of napalm?

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Well I am not sure how far off you are. There's a guy in my classes who works for the USDA and he says they are planning something called a "Tick Blitz" in Hunterdon and southern Union counties to get rid of the new Asian ticks that have established there. What does that mean? I have no idea.

 

[46er]

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.

 

[Gibby]

I would take a guess and say that a spray application of bifenthrin would be a simple and effective means of controlling the invasive ticks.

 

[manumuskin]

Both my Labs have trained themselves to walk up to Daddy (Me) like they want me to pet their head,they then immediately turn around and back their posterior end into me which is their way of saying "Hiney Scratch Please!".They both know that Mommy has the treats but daddy is Hiney Scratcher Extraordinaire!

 

[46er]

Both my Labs have trained themselves to walk up to Daddy (Me) like they want me to pet their head,they then immediately turn around and back their posterior end into me which is their way of saying "Hiney Scratch Please!".They both know that Mommy has the treats but daddy is Hiney Scratcher Extraordinaire!

Most folks don't know that dogs do not like to have their heads petted; butt the rear is the sweet spot. Our Golden backs in every time.

 

[old jersey girl]

work the acupressure points adjacent to the spine with your knuckles, starting at base of the tail and moving towards the head, and even the big dog will give you an amazed look before flopping down with all 4 paws in the air.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

So about that new invasive Bush Tick in the Hunterdon and Union Counties (Haemaphysalis longicornis):

I am disappointed to note that everywhere they look, they seem to find them. The USDA/APHIS is going back to look at archived samples of what they thought were Haemaphysalis leporispalestrus, a common rabbit tick, and realized many of them were actually longicornis species.
This tick has been in the country longer than we realized. It sneaked right in under our radar. Unfortunately, it is here, and it looks as if it's here to stay. It has been located in NJ, AR, VW and probably some other states, I am just going from memory of a powerpoint that I saw this week.

If anyone finds a Haemaphysalis rabbit tick or a tick they can't identify, I would very much love to hear about it.

 

[bobpbx]

And by the way, although still looking, Al and our mutual friend may be correct in their assertion; chiggers may not be in South Jersey after all. I do not get into Cumberland, Cape May, or Salem that often, but will try. I'm not giving up yet.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

You believe there are no chiggers in south Jersey? I do not understand.

 

[Boyd]

chiggers may not be in South Jersey after all.

Maybe I don't understand what you're saying here? I'm in Southwest Atlantic County, not far from the Cumberland and Cape May County lines. There at lots of chiggers here - as bad as anywhere I've been. When I first moved here in 2006, my next door neighbor asked if I knew what chiggers were and warned that they were really bad here. Like a know-it-all, I told him I knew all about chiggers. But when summer came I realized he was right - they are just terrible here!

 

[bobpbx]

You believe there are no chiggers in south Jersey? I do not understand.

I'll have to find the old post by Al. His friend suggests that there may not be chiggers at all in New Jersey after all. He did some research on it. I told Al that I'm going to try and find some, hence this thread was started. I have not found any yet, still looking.

PS: I want proof in the way of a closeup of the offending creature.

 

[46er]

I'm in Southwest Atlantic County, not far from the Cumberland and Cape May County lines. There at lots of chiggers here - as bad as anywhere I've been.

They are in abundance in Cape May, especially the meadows, NWR, and WMA. Each Spring and Autumn Audubon birding festival you can find groups of visitors scratching their chigged ankles in unison as they pluck the wayward ticks off their pants.

 

[enormiss]

If not chiggers then what's been burrowing in my ankles all these years