Ticks are dumb and not in the sense that they’re so loathed; they’re assigned a 10-year-old’s ultimate insult.
That reaching out that they do isn’t because one of us got close enough to grab onto, it’s because they can’t see. Their sense of vibration or sweat indicates the possibility of a giant beast (such as a much larger animal) so they reach.
The animal could still be several feet away, they don’t know. But if their hairy (for lack of a more-accurate term) arms catch some fur (or clothing), well, maybe there is paydirt to be had.
“They wait for you to touch them. Ticks can’t jump, they don’t fly, ticks cannot parachute out of trees down on you. They just hang out,” said Blake Dinius, Plymouth County’s entomologist educator during an August 7 presentation on ticks to the Marion Council on Aging at the Cushing Community Center.
Unlearning, as much as learning, was a focal point of his presentation.
“Ticks, it’s a numbers game. They’re not smart,” said Dinius. “It only takes one of these ticks to feed to completion and … blast out another 2- or 3,000 eggs. “I’m very good at insulating ticks.”
Deer Ticks, explained Dinius, have no eyes. They sense activity by waving arms, picking up CO2 and lactic acid (sweat) and can feel vibrations in the ground. “They’ve got this claw,” he said. When there are many animals running, that’s when the ticks are going to be out.
Before yielding the floor to Erin Morrill, community liaison for the Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project, Dinius shared some personal and family experience as a hiker and lent some advice.
“Be aware but not scared,” he said.
Dinius presented a quick sketch of facts, noting there are 10 different ticks crawling around in Massachusetts, and of the 476,000 cases of Lyme disease in the United States, 95% of those occur in 13 states. The economic burden of Lyme is $3,000 per patient per year.
The fun part of his presentation was a review of popular misconceptions.
“People think they know what to do,” he said, delving into myths such as “avoid tall grass.”
According to Dinius, 95% of ticks are found within 10 feet of the forest’s edge, not out in fields tall or thick grass. Deer ticks feed on chipmunks, mice and 150 animals, 82 of which are birds. Where do the birds hang out? At the edge, same as the animals.
“I find the majority of them along that edge, that strip,” said Dinius, identifying shade and leaf litter as main attractions because Deer Ticks require 82% humidity for survival; 81% and they die. There is a liquid on their mouths that can only absorb 82% and above.
Next myth: The first freeze kills the ticks.
Fact: In Maine during last winter’s one frigid weekend, reported Dinius, the air temperature dropped to minus-9.4 Fahrenheit, but under the under leaves and snow it was 26.6. “Ticks will die around 15 degrees, but you’ve got to get below minus-10 to kill the ticks under the leaves and snow,” he said.
The obvious takeaway: Rake your leaves!
Another misconception: Ticks cannot climb on rubber. “They can,” said Dinius. “It’s harder, but still wear spray repellent.”
Dinius gets tested for Lyme disease annually. He has taken 30 butterfly walks this year and collects ticks as part of his job, but he has not been bitten by a tick in over 30 years.
In February, he collected a jar full of ticks within 15 minutes – in a parking lot (!). “It’s not luck, it’s science. I’m not a lucky person,” he insists.
His advice to attendees focused on personal protection rather than a yard spray. That attention should go to people and pets, and products should include one of DEET, Picaridin, Icaridin, or IR3535.
No more than 20% of the active ingredient is needed in the product; Dinius uses 7% DEET on his four-year-old and two-year-old. Always use EPA-registered products. Others are recommended by the CDC, but data is lacking. Generic brands are okay so long as they are EPA-registered.
“We call them repellent, but what they really do is (mask human chemistry) … the tick will not know you from a tree,” said Dinius.
Apply to fabrics only, never the skin, and apply in advance. Store products takes three to four hours to dry but last six washings or one month. A product called Insect Shield lasts 70 washings or one year. The first nice weekend of every month Dinius treats his family’s outdoor clothes and insists they cannot tell that the clothes were treated, but keep your cat away until the clothes and shoes have dried, just to be on the safe side.
Two pet products he recommended are “K9 Advantix II” (for small dogs) and “Advantage II” (for small cats.)
Dinius is a big do-it-yourself guy, and a little knowledge can go a long way toward saving money. He said to avoid the big-box stores and popular websites in search of savings on a Seresto collar, as third-party marketers push counterfeit products that are next to impossible to discern. He gave the thumbs up to Pet Smart, Chewy and your local veterinarian clinic.
Do a daily tick check: “There is not a spot on your body where a tick cannot bite,” said Dinius, noting that the fingertips can find a tick where the eye cannot see, especially in sweaty or warm areas. “A full-body (tick check) takes me less than 10 seconds; make it a habit.”
If bit, use tweezers, grabbing hard around shoulders, and pull straight back. If you leave “the head” behind, that is actually the mouth, said Dinius, and while the mouth can still cause infection like a splinter might, it cannot send Lyme into the body. Don’t google symptoms, Dinius said. “Symptoms are generalized, nondescript in many cases.”
Gather evidence, log the date of the bite and species, if possible. University of Rhode Island Tick Spotters have over a 99% identification rate. If you send a photo of the tick on the phone, you will also get back an estimate of how long the tick has been feeding. Bullseye rashes, a classic Lyme disease indicator, are not all the same in appearance.
Finally, don’t park a swing set near the tree line.
“That tells me these people don’t know where the ticks are or they don’t like their kids,” said Dinius, sparking laughter.
Chemical yard sprays cost $100 to $150, said Dinius, who said to go with the synthetic or don’t bother (essential oils have not been shown to be effective.) But you only need two.
“The yard-spray industry is a very lucrative business,” he said, stressing the importance of following the label for the DIY crowd. Dinius prescribes one spray in early to mid-May and a second spray in early to mid-June. Whether or not a yard is sprayed on July 4, the ticks go away. “Just spray the edge of the property, it’s good for a month. Do it a second time, that’s it.”
As Merrill would explain, the same personal products that work against ticks are helpful against mosquitoes, plus Lemon Eucalyptus. If the product is DPA-approved and regulated, then it’s the right ingredient, she said.
Merrill’s presentation of the rapid life cycle of mosquito reproduction not only identified that odd tire with standing water but a container as small as a discarded bottle cap.
Plymouth County offers free services, including tire collection, and a homeowner can call up for eight mosquito sprays per season. Some are applied at 2:00 am, an ultra-low-volume spray not for prevention, it only kills adult mosquitoes.
If you’re out on your deck at the end of the day, wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing with hats, and note that mosquitoes don’t like electric fans.
For more information, visit mass.gov/MosquitoesAndTicks.
Marion Council on Aging
By Mick Colageo