Thanks for the alert:

Doctors Warn About Booming Tick Population

I'm counting on my turkeys to eat any ticks - I haven't seen any for a few years. Ticks, that is, I see an awful lot of fat turkeys.

I liked this paragraph:
"The good news, this unusual tick activity now doesn't mean there will be more of them in the Spring. In fact, if it stays dry some of them could die off because ticks don't do well in dry weather. In either case, come Spring, we can also start worrying about mosquitoes."

Lyme disease is really nasty and ticks carry it along with other nasty diseases.

FAQ How can I protect myself and my family from ticks and Lyme Disease?

Claire

I have already found a deer tick that was crawling on the floor of my home office the other day. Probably brought it in from the back yard. I get bit by deer ticks a half dozen times per year or so, because I frequent wild areas. However, this is the earliest in the year I've ever seen one!

So glad that we and our dogs and pony are protected by innoculation against Lyme disease.

I hate ticks. Maybe I need a flock of turkeys too!

Sped, have you checked the efficacy rate for the Lyme vaccine? Last time I asked, it was about 50% - maybe it's improved?

I wouldn't stop worrying about this, even if the vaccine is 90% effective - vigilance still seems to be needed!

Lyme disease isn't the only tick vector disease we need to be concerned about. My daughter was recently diagnosed with Ehrlickia (sp).

Good point! A friend who works on a farm on Naushon, one of the small islands just off the coast, also contracted Rocky Mt spotted tick disease a couple of years ago.

I purchased a box of Tick Tubes last year - I think I'll go get another load of them at Mahoney's. They're infused with Permethrin, a synthetic pyrethroid, and they target the mice who seem to be the main culprits in helping deer ticks overwinter.

In theory, mice take the cotton wadding from the tubes and line their nests with it, killing any ticks they're carrying. These tubes are supposed to be replaced in early spring and fall. I didn't see any ticks this past fall, and forgot to do this, but I think I'll get on it now.

I think the lower efficacy rate (50%) of LymeRx in people was calculated after the first innoculation, with the rate rising with a first booster to 75% or thereabouts, and into the 90%s after the final booster. We had the full series. However the long term efficacy is not known, so I gave myself a booster with the dog vaccine (LymeVax) five or six years after the series of LymeRx. The two vaccines are very similar formulations and similar also to the equine vaccine that was tested but never marketted. Thus I vaccinate my pony annually, as do many other horse owners, with a high success rate.

A bullseye rash has never developed around any of the tick bites I've received, so I assume the vaccine is quite effective. Lyme disease is rampant here now. It has spread exponentially from coastal Connecticut in this past decade.

Be careful with those tubes, Digging. Permethrin can be deadly to cats. I'd fear that the treated mice would be toxic to any kitties in the area. Perhaps you could permeate cotton wadding with a feline-friendly preventative such as fipronil instead.

Interesting delivery method for controlling ticks (and fleas). It ought to be effective.

I bought tick tubes 2 years ago. Put them out in the spring. I threw them away - still full of cotton balls - when I did my fall clean up. I'm sure they are effective for other people - but with the amount of wildlife we have in our yard, I don't see many mice.

I'm more concerned about the deer carrying the ticks. So I try to keep the deer out of the yard. Kinda tough when you border conservation land.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a couple guineas.

The gentleman farmer down the road, who has fancy cattle (maybe Scottish Highland, but I'm just guessing) also has a flock of Guinea fowl that run free during the daytime. I imagine their main purpose is to eat ticks, but they're a lot of fun to watch. I've also had to get out of my car and chase them when they blocked the road.

Claire

spedigrees, thanks for the info about tick tubes and cats. I had read they were safe, but it appears that's just for the tubes - I hadn't thought about them eating the treated rodents. We have barn cats and I don't want to poison them. Fipronil, eh? I'll look into that. Thinking of making some of my own.

I'm dreading tick season this year. We took 12 off our dog this morning after a short run outside (that included a foray into the woods), and there were probably many more on him we didn't see yet. These are the tiny dangerous ones. We use frontline-like products on the dog and a natural oil spray, but nothing seems to work.

I switched from Frontline Plus a couple of years ago to K9 Advantix with much better results for my dog.

Turkeys (and chickens) are also supposed to eat ticks. The past couple of years the population of wild turkeys seems to be growing in my town and immediately surrounding towns, because I see flocks regularly while driving around. Maybe they will help keep the tick population under control.

Despite the warm weather this past week, and lots of gardening and grubbing around in the shrubbery, I haven't seen any more ticks since that first one.

I am cleaning up some thorny, brushy areas and I have pulled 8 off me in the last week. 6 imbedded and 2 on my clothes. I was awoken last night at 3 AM by the wind rattling the blinds and felt the 8th one on my back. This was after a very thorough tick check and a shower! Now I have to monitor for rashes or symptoms for the next couple of months. Bleh.

Our dog had Lyme disease in January this year, and he'd been inoculated. I've had it twice. Haven't seen ticks yet lately but am dreading them.

We've already been dealing with ticks here too. Just pulled one of my son this morning, already imbedded. Fortunately not a deer tick but will still have to keep an eye on the area.

We have lots of turkeys who are apparantly slacking off! I hate ticks.

This article takes a different slant; apparently the low acorn crop last year caused a collapse in the mouse population. That makes it more likely that ticks will be looking for a meal longer than they'd normally need to, and making it more likely that they'll find (and settle for) a human or pet dog instead of a mouse.

Here is a link that might be useful: Few Mice Sets Stage For Highly Active Tick Season

I've been dealing with an insane amount of ticks all winter here in CT. Just something to add about Frontline type products. A poster above said something along the lines of 'it's not working'. I thought the same thing bc I keep finding them on my dogs despite using the products religiously. My vet explained that we will still see the ticks on the dogs. You can't stop the ticks from trying to get a meal. All the product can do is kill them once they land on the dog. It does that by paralyzingly the tick so it can no longer eat and will starve to death and fall off eventually. It takes a little time for the stuff to kick in. So expect to still see the ticks. I only add this bc I thought the same thing myself. I find ticks on my floor often after falling off the dogs. If I look right after trips outside I will find them on the dog. Either way the tick has been exposed to the product and is/will be paralyzed. Creepy regardless if you ask me!

Claire, we also have fields nearby with Highland cattle and chickens together.

Carol
P.S. - I can't resist - I've been reading "booming tick population" as "ticking boom". Which is worse?

i've read that they live on mice more often than deer, too.

i've also read they like rock walls? I have a rock wall - or more accurately a long, narrow pile of rocks along half the yard and into the woods.

I took my new puppy for a walk the other day thru the woods and he got 19 ticks on him! Thankfully I'd applied Frontline Plus because vet gave me a free sample and said he was old enough for it. I thought surely I could wait till summer! Half were falling of dead when I was brushing him indoors, so that is some toxic stuff. I found none attached to him.

I hate ticks!
I also have switched from Frontline to K9 Advantix but still do 'tick checks' on my dog after walks in the woods & still find them on her.

Invincible little buggers!

I don't much like Frontline, but I've been using it on my dogs every summer for many years.

I've read that the most important thing when using it is NOT to "round up" on the dog's weight; vets often recommend a higher dose than normal. Once upon a time I'd have taken whatever the vet recommended, but after reading about the rare but serious complications that have sometimes occurred, I'm sticking with the lower dose and applying it carefully.

That means no bath 2 days before or after, and keeping the dog out of strong sunlight for several hours after application. Yeah, we could still see side effects, but I'm trying to minimize them.

I've read or seen on tv (can't recall which) about moose dying from anemia caused by tick bites. A game official talked of seeing moose literally covered in ticks. A moose is a big animal, and the thought of enough ticks feeding on one to the point of bringing it down is still astounding to me.

my dogs bring several ticks every day, most of the tie i find them already feeding on them. for the last 2 years i was using k9advantix on them and it worked well, but i wanted to use natural methods instead of putting poison on my dogs, so for right now i am trying DE(food grade), i just started so can not really say if its working, i am gonna give it at least 3 weeks before judging.

Paul Tukey's SafeLawns.blog has an entry titled "Tick Repellent Has Glowing Reports" (May 14, 2012).

He says he's used the EcoSMART Mosquito and Tick Control in his yard, and plans to try the personal product which can be applied to the skin. It's reportedly made from "food-grade botanic ingredients that are considered so safe they donâÂÂt require an EPA registration".

Sounds interesting.

Claire