Ticks and how to deal with them
I hate ticks.
This year, I get the award for the first tick of the year. Fortunately, it was still crawling when I felt it. Having been diagnosed with Lyme disease three times, I am particularly aware of the importance of tick bite prevention. I know that all creatures fill some niche in the natural world, but I still don’t like them. Anyway, as we increase our time outside, it is a good time to remind gardeners about ticks.
If you aren’t familiar with them, ticks are parasites, living off the blood of mammals and birds but also occasionally found on reptiles and amphibians. They are part of the arachnid family and specifically the mites.
Small, with eight legs, their appearance is different throughout their lives. Ticks attach to a host (who or whatever they feed on) and feed on blood; dropping off when they are full. Gross as that is, unfortunately, ticks frequently carry and transmit diseases to their host.
In Pennsylvania, there are several species of ticks, but the three most common ones are deer ticks (black-legged), lone star ticks, and American dog ticks.
According to Penn State Extension publication, Ticks and TickBorne Disease (extension.psu. edu/ticks-and-tickborne-disease)
Diseases
Black-legged ticks: Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bantonella and Powassan virus.
American dog ticks: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia and Powassan virus.
Lone star ticks: Ehrlichiosis, tularemia, tick0associated meat allergy and souther-tick-associated rash illness.
Strategies to avoid ticks
As with most things, we cannot eliminate ticks, but we can do some things to avoid contact with
them. These suggestions are from the article cited above and Center for Disease Control (CDC) article on ticks (cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/on_ people.html)
Avoid areas with forest and brush where deer and rodents live.
Keep lawn cut and avoid areas with high grass.
Create a three-foot-wide wood chip barrier around your property.
Keep any woodpiles on an area of wood chips
Keep a nine-foot lawn barrier between wood chip barrier and
play areas, patios, and gardens.
Plant deer-resistant plants and/or erect an eight-foot fence around the area to keep deer at bay.
Place play sets within the protected areas and in a sunny location.
Remove leaf litter.
It is a helpful list but most of us can’t give three feet to a wood chip barrier and another nine feet of lawn surrounding the areas we use. However, pick and choose those methods that may suit your garden.
Personal protection
When walking, stay in the middle of trails and avoid entering brushy areas
Tuck pants in socks
Wear permethrin-treated clothing
Check pets, bags, coats and equipment. Ticks can be brought in on items like this.
Use products containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone.
Check for ticks often.
Shower within two hours of coming indoors and perform a full-body check for ticks.
Process clothes in a hot dryer for at least 10 minutes, longer if fabric is wet. Wash in hot water, cold or warm will not kill ticks.
Check pets often and consult a veterinarian for tick repellent treatments.
What to do if you find a tick attached
Grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible, using clean, fine-tipped tweezers.
Pull upward, don’t twist or jerk, use steady, even pressure.
If the mouthparts remain in the skin, remove them with tweezers if possible
Clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water
Do not crush a tick with your fingers.
Dispose of a live tick by: Putting in alcohol; Placing it in a sealed bag/container; Wrapping it tightly in tape; Flushing it down the toilet
Consult the CDC publication Tick Bite: What to Do (cdc.gov/ ticks/pdfs/FS_TickBite-508.pdf )
After a tick bite
Watch the bite area and if you develop a rash and/or fever within a few weeks of the bite, consult your doctor. Tell them when you were bitten.
In our garden
Last week Fran and neighbor Jack went out for tomatoes. They bought plenty but neglected to get the only one I asked for, a plum/paste tomato. So, Fran and I made another trip to the nursery and got two Amish paste plants, one red and one orange. I also picked up a few herbs and a bronze fennel for the Black swallowtail caterpillars. I also ordered a few end-of-season plants that I just couldn’t resist, in particular, an oak leaf hydrangea.