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Summertime is officially here!
While it's the best time of the year for spending time outdoors, it's also the time of year when
nymphal blacklegged tick
activity kicks into high gear. These poppy seed-sized bloodsuckers are responsible for most cases of Lyme disease, 1) because they’re active when we’re spending time outdoors, and 2) because they’re just SO darn tiny. Sometimes nymphs are able to complete their four-day-long meal without so much as ever being noticed. Other times, they’re only noticed once it’s too late.
But this is no reason to stay inside! We’ve packed lots of simple prevention tips into this issue that should make adopting tick safety into your and your family's daily routine a breeze.
Happy Summer!
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I
n this issue:
TickForecast –
Tick season is ramping up! Find out which ticks are active in your neck of the woods.
Veterinary Programs –
Get the low down on our work with veterinarians.
TickSmart Yard Planning Tips –
Did you know that there are landscaping techniques that can help keep ticks out of your yard? We’ve got expert tips!
TickSmart products –
Magnets, and shower cards, and learning kits, oh my!
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Two day-fed nymphal blacklegged (deer) tick.
URI TickEncounter Resource Center
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According to reports here at TickEncounter, we’re in the midst of a strong “tick season." We say that in quotes because it's truly tick season year 'round but this is the time of year when many different species are all out at once.
Nymphal
blacklegged ticks
will be active from now until mid-summer in the southeastern, mid-Atlantic, northeastern, and upper midwestern parts of the country. Since they're only on their second meal of their lifetime, fewer are infected with Lyme disease or other diseases - 15-30% are infected with Lyme bacteria in the southeast, mid-Atlantic, northeast, and upper midwest, while 5-10% are infected in the southern part of its range. These tiny bloodsuckers will be looking for you from the ground as they emerge from the lead litter so keep a close eye on the lower extremities up to the waist for any new "freckles."
Adult and nymphal
Lone star ticks
are also quite active right now in the southeast, Midwest, and mid-Atlantic regions. They are aggressive human biters and males, females, and nymphs can all transmit some nasty diseases.
Studies suggest that about 10% of Lone Star ticks may carry
Ehrlichia chaffeensis
, the germ causing human monocytic ehrlichiosis and
Borrelia lonestari
, a non-Lyme disease borrelia. About that same % carry
Ehrlichia canis
, which can make a dog sick, too. In some people, bites from Lone Star ticks have been associated with development of a condition called STARI (southern tick-associated rash illness--cause unknown), and also development of a
curious allergy to red meat
. However some good news is that Lone star ticks
DO NOT transmit Lyme disease bacteria
.
You also are likely going to encounter adult male and female
American dog ticks at this time of year. They
are some of the most commonly found ticks around the country, and make up the majority of our TickSpotters reports. While they can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, they are rarely infected (between 1 and 7 out of 100 depending on where you live), but like all ticks, the longer that this tick is attached, the greater the chance that it has transmitted a disease it may be carrying. American dog tick saliva can also trigger an ascending paralysis in dogs that resolves shortly after the tick is removed. So if your pet suddenly develops lameness, make sure you get to a veterinarian and look for a tick hidden in the fur. These ticks are often found wandering in homes, or even hanging out on the sunny side of a house as they warm themselves. But don't worry - they don't infest houses and will die from drying out within a few days.
Brown dog ticks, on the other hand DO infest houses, and
are active all year (typically in warmer climates, like the southwest). In addition to quickly infesting homes, they are carriers of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and are capable of infecting dogs and (more rarely) humans.
Eradicating brown dog ticks
is difficult and costly, and is worth taking the extra time to check your dog after it has been at a shelter or any facility where dogs are kept in close quarters.
Continue performing tick checks on people and pets after time outdoors, and definitely continue treating your pet with
tick preventative
each month! Check out our latest
TickNote
for more information.re information.
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May is often the “tickiest” month of the season.
Here’s a comparison of what our TickSpotters program has received in May for the past four years.
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Larval blacklegged ticks
URI TickEncounter Resource Center
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Starting at the end of July and continuing into early fall teeny, tiny, six-legged larvae will be emerging. You may also hear this stage called a "seed tick." Bites from most larval tick species are generally nothing more than an annoyance since they don’t hatch infected with diseases. However, studies have found that depending on geographic location
blacklegged tick larvae
can hatch already infected (a process called transovarial transmission) with
Borrelia miyamotoi
, non-Lyme disease bacteria that cause a relapsing fever. However, it is currently unknown whether larval blacklegged ticks are capable of transmitting these bacteria to humans.
Though we’ve had a few reports already,
larval Lone Star ticks
will mainly hatch onto the scene in the eastern, southern, and Midwestern parts of the county in August. Fortunately, these larvae are pathogen-free but their bite is still capable of potentially triggering
an allergy to red meat
, as well as a pretty annoying (and sometimes long-lasting) itch response. Given that you’ll probably not just encounter one larval tick, but rather a whole lot at once, it’s important to wear tick repellent clothing. If you happen upon a swarm of larval ticks, you can tackle them with
duct tape
. Yet another use for this ubiquitous tool!
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Removing larval ticks with duct tape.
URI TickEncounter Resource Center
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Treat your outdoor summer clothing and shoes with
effective permethrin spray
.
The spray will not stain or leave an odor on clothing once it has dried. One treatment using Sawyer permethrin spray lasts for up to six weeks or six washes, whichever comes first.
- Wearing disposable gloves, spray clothing article fabric with permethrin until saturated.
- Let dry overnight.
- Wear your TickSmart clothing to prevent ticks from latching on and climbing aboard.
We recommend treating your shoes on the first of the month in May, June, July, and August. Spraying your socks in time for larval tick season is also a TickSmart idea because they are so tiny, they can
crawl right through the fabric
! You can also purchase tick-repellent clothing, or send your own favorite outdoor clothes away to be
treated professionally
.
If you do encounter a tick, make sure you know the proper way to
remove it
with a pair of pointy tweezers. And once it’s removed,
don’t throw it away
! Save that tick (you may want to have it tested), snap a picture, and submit it to
TickSpotters
.
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Spotlight on: Veterinary Clinic Programs
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TickSpotter Veterinary Clinics throughout the country.
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Veterinary Clinic TickSpotters Surveillance
Hopefully by now you’re familiar with our
TickSpotters program
, a free photo-based crowdsourced tick survey, that tracks tick trends while providing tick encounter-specific risk assessments and prevention information to participants nationwide. But this isn’t our only means of keeping tabs on what ticks are doing throughout the country. TickSpotters Veterinary Clinics, with support from
Boehringer Ingelheim,
are leading the charge on the pet tick encounter front. Participating veterinary clinics and animal hospitals are collecting all the ticks they find and remove from their patients, and sending them to TickEncounter every two weeks for identification. In return, TERC provides c
linic-specific posters and tick monitoring data to promote awareness at each clinic site.
We keep track of the types and numbers of ticks from each clinic to get a broad idea of what pets across America are encountering. In 2018 the TickSpotters Vet program will service 11 clinics spread throughout the United States to capture a wide swath of tick species. In 2017, the
most frequently submitted tick was the American dog tick (
Dermacentor variabilis
) followed by the blacklegged (deer) tick (
Ixodes scapularis
), though Shawnee Animal Clinic (OH) submitted 306 Lone star ticks (
Amblyomma americanum
) -- the most ticks of any one clinic. The total number of ticks submitted in 2017 was 2,854.
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Training TickSmart Veterinarians
We have also embarked on a joint venture with Zoetis Petcare and Boehringer Ingelheim to certify TickSmart Veterinary Clinics. Three-hour trainings for both vets and staff are taught by our own Dr. Tom Mather and strive to introduce all clinic employees to proper tick identification and prevention practices for pets. Currently we have over 50 clinics certified (right now just by invitation only), but are hoping to grow this program to help pet owners to be equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to protect the whole family - both furry and non-furry members alike.
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Photos from a recent training at Animal Care Hospital in Clifton Park, NY
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TickSmart Tips for Summer
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Yard care is an often tedious but rewarding chore to get your outdoor space relaxation ready. But have you considered targeting that cleanup to reduce tick encounters in your backyard? You can prevent tick encounters at home by making a plan for a
TickSafe yard
. Consider tactics like perimeter spray treatments, placing mouse-targeted devices, or simply keeping shrubs and grasses trimmed, deer fences in place, and wood piles cleared to make your yard unattractive to ticks and the wildlife that carry them. Check out our interactive diagram to see what changes you can make to ensure a
TickSmart backyard
.
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Wondering how to spread the word about ticks this summer? We’ve got you covered! Stock up on materials and tools to help support your community’s TickSmart effort. We have informative and eye-catching “I Just Found a Tick” handouts that include how to report a tick encounter to our TickSpotters program for a quick risk assessment report (usually in 24-36 hrs.). If that tick IS risky, instructions are given on how to submit that tick for disease testing at our partnering UMass labs. We also have magnets, shower cards, educational kits, and other
products available for purchase.
We also have newly-designed tick ID magnets (left) for purchase! Keep one on your fridge, leave some at the library, the community pool, or have your kids give them out at camp.
It’s always a good time to get TickSmart and summer is a particularly good time, as ticks are frequently top of mind.
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