As summer rolls through the North Country, people are spending more time outside in nature. We are not the only travelers in the outdoors, with tick season already in full swing. Ticks are parasitic arachnids that tend to hang around cool, shady areas, clinging to low shrubs, leaf litter, or grasses. They use these ground-level covers to latch onto prey easily as they brush by. Their diet consists of blood meals from their hosts, slowly consuming for three days to a week after burrowing their mouthparts through the skin. The most common varieties include the black-legged tick/deer tick (Ixodes scapularis), the American dog tick/wood tick (Dermacentor variabilis), and the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum).
Tick prevention: how to minimize interaction and maximize detection
Ticks are vectors of many pathogens, and are more likely to transmit them if feeding for more than 24-48 hours. With a dozen potentially transmitted diseases, they spread more types of pathogens to people from animals than any other creature. Many of these diseases are incredibly rare and all have under a 1% fatality rate if treated with modern antibiotics. The most common tick-related illness in the Northeast is Lyme disease, which is only present in black-legged ticks. The Thangamani Lab in Syracuse, NY reports that 38% of tested ticks submitted from St. Lawrence County carried at least one pathogen, with Lyme disease being the most common. The prevalence of Lyme disease has increased over the years due to booms in host deer populations, climate change shifting habitat zones, and human-related activities and development encroaching on natural areas.
While ticks seem to prefer areas with long grasses or dense woods, up to 75% of tick bites occur in our own backyards and particularly affect those who spend time in gardens and yards. The unmaintained edge between woodland or brush and your lawn, called the ecotone, is actually one of the most common points of contact humans have with tick populations, while ornamental vegetation and lawns have the lowest number of ticks. If your home borders heavy vegetation, taking steps to prevent bites is particularly important. Read more How to spot, remove, and test ticks