Warm winter means bug city in the Tennessee Valley
An unusually warm and wet winter and spring has set the foundation for “Bug City” here in Chattanooga, according to experts.
Chattanooga temperatures were 3.4 degrees above average this spring, making it the second warmest since 1879, according to the National Weather Service. The winter, with a daily average temperature of 5.7 degrees above average, was the fourth warmest. And WRCB chief meteorologist Paul Barys said a March cold spell wasn’t enough to wipe out the bugs.
“It would have to be below freezing and stay freezing for at least 10 days or longer,” he said.
Additionally, plentiful spring rains contributed to what Chris Moore, former board member of the Wilderness Medical Society, calls a “perfect storm” for an increase in ticks this season.
Tara Hargrove, a Chattanooga-area resident who likes to hike and be outdoors regularly, said she’s
hiked twice this year on the Harrison Bay trails and both times found ticks on herself, a friend and her dogs.
“I am careful while hiking to stay in the center of the trail not brushing up against bushes or going through any higher brush etc., especially with dogs but still find myself with ticks,” she wrote in a Facebook message.
Hargrove said she hasn’t had any issues with tick bites because she normally catches them before they have a chance to bite her or her children.
“[W]e do family tick check right away at home ‘like monkeys’ the kids say,” she wrote.
Tai Federico, a veterinarian with Riverview Animal Hospital, agreed it’s “pretty ticky” this year.
“I just pulled two off myself this weekend,” he said. “I was just working in the yard, just mowing grass and weed-eating, that sort of thing.”
Riverview does not keep statistics on tick-related visits, but Federico guessed he’s seeing pets with ticks at least two to three times a week, relatively more than previous years.
“Usually it’s just low numbers of ticks,” he said. “It’s not like in the old days when dogs would just come in covered with ticks. We don’t see that in our part of town anymore; they may see that in some places that are a little more rural.”
Federico said he most commonly sees Lone Star or American dog ticks, but added Chattanooga has the “dubious distinction of being in the part of the country that has all four major tick species.” The other major species are deer ticks and brown dog ticks.
Dan Hekman of Pest Tech Chattanooga said calls for tick treatment have increased by about 50 percent this summer.
“Flea infestations outnumber tick problems by tenfold, but tick problems occur frequently near wooded areas,” he wrote in an email. “Signal Mountain, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge seem to have more tick problems than other parts of town.”
Hekman said the most important preventive measure people can take is to keep grass trimmed, and when hiking, wear long pants and bug repellent — “preferably with DEET.”
As of June 17, there had been 193 cases of tick-borne illnesses reported in Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Department of Health, only one less than last year at the same time. This year’s number includes 20 cases of ehrlichiosis, a flulike illness;
“Signal Mountain, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge seem to have more tick problems than other parts of town.”
— DAN HEKMAN, PEST TECH CHATTANOOGA
15 cases of Lyme disease and 158 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). Last year’s breakdown was very similar.
RMSF is the most common tick-borne illness in Hamilton County, with two cases already reported this year, Tom Bodkin, spokesman for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department wrote in an email. There have been no cases of Lyme disease or ehrlichiosis.
The state health department keeps statistics only on tick-borne diseases, which means a regular tick bite would not be reported. Janara Huff, an infectious disease doctor at Erlanger, said she only sees patients who have symptoms of a tick-borne disease.
“We treat based on suspicion, and it’s justified because of the seriousness of [these diseases],” she said.
Huff said that, while an inflammation of the bite area does not mean infection, it is important to be aware of the bite and let the doctor know if other symptoms develop. She said the best preventive method is to wear repellent and “before 12 hours go by, look over yourself,” noting that a tick would have to be attached for several hours for it to transmit a disease.
Common symptoms to look out for after a tick bite include fever, headache and muscle aches, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever always has a rash, she said.
In total last year there were 581 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Tennessee, and from 2004 to 2014, the disease caused 16 deaths in Tennessee,
according to the Tennessee Department of Health’s website.