Tick IPM – The Dog Zone – Think IPM Blog

December’s wintery breath is already clouding the pond, frosting the pane, obscuring summer’s memory… ― John Geddes

Winter had an early showing in New York this year. So when the temperature hit 50^oF yesterday, I took the opportunity to spend some time outside. And, as I had warned people that follow me and NYS IPM on social media with this great graphic by Matt Frye earlier today, the ticks were out and about. (Side note: follow us at www.facebook.com/NYSIPM and twitter.com/NYSIPM for up-to-date information you can use.)

Now, the ticks weren’t as active as the 70^oF day last February. I had to put in a little more effort to find them. But while tick dragging, I noticed where others regularly go off the beaten track (or, rather, create their own beaten track). We’re going to call this The Dog Zone.

There’s a perfectly good paved path, but the dog print laden path is inches from the woodline.

Let’s face it. Dogs want to stick their noses into interesting places, and there just aren’t that many interesting places on the pavement. So they will take advantage of the length of the leash to get off the pavement and follow the scent trails. And the smells of mice, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, deer, rabbits (you get the idea), are more likely to be wafting at the edge of the woods than in the short grass. I watched dog walkers leave the pavement themselves to indulge their furry friends. Unfortunately, ticks are more likely to be in those areas.

Talk to your vet about options to protect your pets from ticks and tick-borne diseases.

Typically the dogs are between their walkers and prime tick habitat, but leaving the pavement still puts you more at risk if you are not taking preventative measures. And let’s not forget to protect your dogs too. There are multiple products out there including different topical and oral products as well as collars. These are described in our Tick FAQ under What should I do to protect my pet from ticks?. (Funny story, numerous people have asked me if they could put tick collars around their ankles. Just… no. You can, however, apply permethrin to your own clothing.)

But the really important message here is that ticks are active during the winter. And even if the air temperature is less than 37^oF, a protected, sun-exposed area next to a woodline can be significantly warmer. Last week a site we were monitoring had an air temperature of 40^oF, but the ground temperature was 50.6^oF. So I will end by emphasizing the need to protect yourself from ticks year-round and conduct a tick check EVERY DAY.

For more information on ticks, visit www.dontgettickedny.org.