Bracken control

SIR – We are grateful for Suzanne Greenhill’s comments on ticks, the incidence of Lyme disease and its relation to bracken (Letters, May 1).

There is an apparent increase in bracken where it is recovering from past control efforts, resulting in thicker, taller patches, and these are ideal tick habitat.

The EU has banned the use of the only environmentally friendly bracken-control herbicide (Asulam). However, the Government has used its powers of derogation every year to permit its use in the UK specifically for bracken. Bracken needs to be controlled for a range of reasons and Asulam is a necessary tool.

Professor R H Marrs President, The Heather Trust University of Liverpool Simon Thorp Co-ordinator, Bracken Control Group Dumfries