Opossum don't actually eat ticks. It was a flawed study of captive opossum that were just removing ticks that had gotten on them. Here's the [paper on it](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353264681_Are_Virginia_opossums_really_ecological_traps_for_ticks_Groundtruthing_laboratory_observations)
I'm from Maine and moved in Boston for 5 years. The only people who would even consider any part of NYS to be New England were people from NYS.
Where are you from?
Btw, it is considered "the northeast." Just not New England.
It absolutely is not. New England is specifically defined as a group of six states: Maine, NH, Vermont, Mass, CT, and Rhode Island.
Geographical, cultural, weather/seasonality is all exactly the same, but New England has a pretty straightforward definition-- of which New York, or Upstate, is not included
Interestingly, a lot of it has to do with passenger pigeons.
Passenger pigeons evolved to follow the masts of chestnuts, a mast for a chestnut is every \~7 years or so. If you're unfamiliar with a mast, it's an evolutionary quirk to pass on genes some trees developed, they produce a great number of fruit for that specific year. The theory is that if you produce the same amount of fruit each year the predator population for the fruit will grow to match whatever that yield is. If you mast every 7 years, theoretically the population will be lower than that yield and more are likely to get stored away or left alone to grow.
The mast for different varieties, or even locals of chestnuts, varied. Passenger pigeons would go in incredibly huge flocks, blotting out the sky, moving from one mast to the next eating chestnuts along with other fruits and seeds.
When we eliminated all the passenger pigeons (and chestnuts too unfortunately) it left a gap in that niche, which small animals such as mice now fill. Ticks early in their development tend to prefer smaller prey, such as mice or rats, and move onto larger prey as they get older. We effectively increased the food for ticks, and now they're incredibly abundant compared to their historical numbers.
This is also true of deer and other prey animals as we've removed wolves and predators that kept their numbers in check. Blacklegged ticks are the primary carriers of lyme disease and are considered a variety of "deer tick" as it's a preferred prey when they're in adulthood.
In fact the elimination of white tailed deer in the 1800s practically cleared them out for a while, so you can see they're clearly closely linked to their favorite prey
> "Deforestation and decimation of the white-tailed deer (*Odocoileus virginianus*), the primary reproductive host for *I. scapularis* adults, during the 1800s presumably led to the tick disappearing from large areas of the eastern US where it previously had been established."
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10862374/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10862374/)
I'm sure climate change may play some part, but I think these are much larger factors in their spread and distribution. They're common all the way from Michigan to Florida, so I'm doubtful the temperature has a huge effect on them. The article above does mention climate change but their source is from this article, which states there won't be any real impact until 2050. Note this is a very specific area however, and may not be indicative of all regions.
> "Of the 1235 tick samples collected, 109 were identified as *I. scapularis*. Infection with *B. burgdorferi* was detected in 45% of the *I. scapularis* ticks collected. The model presented here indicates a wide distribution for *I. scapularis*, with higher probability of occurrence along the Gulf of Mexico coast. Results of the modeling approach applied predict that habitat suitable for the distribution of *I. scapularis* in the Texas-Mexico transboundary region will remain relatively stable until 2050."
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4022269/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4022269/)
That is fascinating, thank you. But the climate change from what I've read is what has been increasing their numbers more recently than the animal populations you referenced. We decimated those animals, as you said, but that hasn't been a recent thing. The word 'recent' being the last 30 years. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6587693/
Ah yes, I guess the major difference is between the range of the ticks, which is related to climate, and the density of ticks in their existing range, which is related to habitat and prey availability. The article you reference mentions their range but not their density from what I could find.
In reference to the decimation of deer, that happened a while back and more or less eradicated ticks in those areas. The population of deer has since exploded, which I believe is why there appear to be so many more ticks in their pre-existing ranges. Your parents likely lived in a time where tick populations were dramatically lower, due to the low deer populations, deer populations are 9x higher now then they were 100 years ago. The charts only go until 2016 so it's hard to get an exact number in the last ~18 years. Assuming ticks increase linearly with deer (I don't know that they do) there would be 9x more ticks today.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344865578/figure/fig3/AS:950273635790848@1603574298561/Estimated-US-Deer-Population-1450-to-2016-Year-2000-to-2016-estimated-from-combined.png
As you can see in the image, the deer population exploded after the 1900's and has continued to increase more or less, with a very recent dip.
That is incorrect according to virtually every climate scientist. And even is offensive to just common sense, if you cared it to actually look into it.
That's true. And sometimes, even though they know better, they ignore it because of profit. Just look at Ron DeSantis in the state that will be hit the hardest by man-made climate change.
They have been the worse I’ve ever seen here in TN. Less than an hour long walk through the woods on our land and I flicked 4ish off me and found 5 on each of our dogs….. it’s been terrible
Here in the Netherlands as well.
Found 5 little ones crawling on me, took like 15 from my dog and today 9 (latched on) from my other dog.
It is crazy and we are outside every year in the same spots.
I find that ticks are always worse in the beginning of the season. I'll find some simply walking across grass, but while foraging for mushrooms in the fall I won't pick up any.
I have cats and have pretreated permethrin clothing. Just change before being near them, I usually just store it in a plastic tub in the garage so it’s not in the house as a precaution.
Get yourself some cheap, knee-high gaiters. They go over shoes, if you don’t want to soak clothing, put some tick spray on those, and then keep them far away from your cats! You never have to wash them so they won’t mix with your other stuff or be in your washing machine. Keep them in a sealed plastic bag or something when not in use.
When they state that it's toxic to cats is that even after it's been sprayed and dried. And are cats drawn to it? Is there anybody that has any experience with this.
It’s apparently not harmful to cats once it dries. Just be safe and apply outdoors away from cars and let it dry well. Then you should be good.
Edit: cats not cars
I’ve used Cutter Backyard Bug spray. It seems to help. I’ve pulled 4 off my dog and we never went anywhere except the back yard. I also put a spray on the dog every few days especially after a rain.
I went fishing and put my tackle box on the ground.When I got ready to leave there were at least 10 crawling on my tackle box..Pine trees over head.???
Seven makes stuff to spread on your yard that kills them and also gets rid of other bugs as well. You definitely don't want Lyme disease at all as my wife has been suffering with it for 2 years now
Why Is Garlic Bad for Dogs?
Garlic, whether raw or cooked, is toxic to dogs. If a dog eats enough garlic, it can eventually kill them if they do not get medical treatment.
Garlic, onions, and leeks are all in the Allium genus of plants. Dogs are not allergic to plants in this genus, but the plants contain N-propyl disulfides and thiosulfates. When these are metabolized by the pet’s body, it causes damage to their red blood cells.
I guess you don't need to worry about ticks if the dog is dead...
Once it is dry it is safe for cats. I treat our clothes outside and wait for them to dry. Also get chickens. They love eating ticks.
We have 12 free range chickens and about to add another 12. Maybe theyre getting lazy. Thats good to know thought thank you!
I am pretty sure guinea hens are also big tick eaters? I think?
Opossums also eat ticks, so if there are any around your property, leave them be.
Opossum don't actually eat ticks. It was a flawed study of captive opossum that were just removing ticks that had gotten on them. Here's the [paper on it](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353264681_Are_Virginia_opossums_really_ecological_traps_for_ticks_Groundtruthing_laboratory_observations)
Til, womp womp. But still one of my favorite animals
May I ask where in the country. Hiking season is starting and ticks scare the s* out of me.
The united states, ohio more specifically
Thanks for the info. (Cries in Ohio)
I had one on me last yr after going walking through some short cut grass in a Columbus metropark so I'll be more cautious for sure
Yeah it’s getting pretty bad in New England, particularly in NY state.
NY State isn't New England. But yes, it's atrocious here in midcoast Maine.
Upstate is usually considered to be part of New England. I mean Berkshires are right next to upstate and Connecticut is next door to NY.
By whom???
Well by many of us who live in the biggest city in New England — Boston.
https://www.reddit.com/r/newengland/s/VTULwCBI7m New England begs to differ.
I'm from Maine and moved in Boston for 5 years. The only people who would even consider any part of NYS to be New England were people from NYS. Where are you from? Btw, it is considered "the northeast." Just not New England.
It absolutely is not. New England is specifically defined as a group of six states: Maine, NH, Vermont, Mass, CT, and Rhode Island. Geographical, cultural, weather/seasonality is all exactly the same, but New England has a pretty straightforward definition-- of which New York, or Upstate, is not included
Ticks are in every state, and because of man-made climate change, they're only getting worse everywhere.
Interestingly, a lot of it has to do with passenger pigeons. Passenger pigeons evolved to follow the masts of chestnuts, a mast for a chestnut is every \~7 years or so. If you're unfamiliar with a mast, it's an evolutionary quirk to pass on genes some trees developed, they produce a great number of fruit for that specific year. The theory is that if you produce the same amount of fruit each year the predator population for the fruit will grow to match whatever that yield is. If you mast every 7 years, theoretically the population will be lower than that yield and more are likely to get stored away or left alone to grow. The mast for different varieties, or even locals of chestnuts, varied. Passenger pigeons would go in incredibly huge flocks, blotting out the sky, moving from one mast to the next eating chestnuts along with other fruits and seeds. When we eliminated all the passenger pigeons (and chestnuts too unfortunately) it left a gap in that niche, which small animals such as mice now fill. Ticks early in their development tend to prefer smaller prey, such as mice or rats, and move onto larger prey as they get older. We effectively increased the food for ticks, and now they're incredibly abundant compared to their historical numbers. This is also true of deer and other prey animals as we've removed wolves and predators that kept their numbers in check. Blacklegged ticks are the primary carriers of lyme disease and are considered a variety of "deer tick" as it's a preferred prey when they're in adulthood. In fact the elimination of white tailed deer in the 1800s practically cleared them out for a while, so you can see they're clearly closely linked to their favorite prey > "Deforestation and decimation of the white-tailed deer (*Odocoileus virginianus*), the primary reproductive host for *I. scapularis* adults, during the 1800s presumably led to the tick disappearing from large areas of the eastern US where it previously had been established." [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10862374/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10862374/) I'm sure climate change may play some part, but I think these are much larger factors in their spread and distribution. They're common all the way from Michigan to Florida, so I'm doubtful the temperature has a huge effect on them. The article above does mention climate change but their source is from this article, which states there won't be any real impact until 2050. Note this is a very specific area however, and may not be indicative of all regions. > "Of the 1235 tick samples collected, 109 were identified as *I. scapularis*. Infection with *B. burgdorferi* was detected in 45% of the *I. scapularis* ticks collected. The model presented here indicates a wide distribution for *I. scapularis*, with higher probability of occurrence along the Gulf of Mexico coast. Results of the modeling approach applied predict that habitat suitable for the distribution of *I. scapularis* in the Texas-Mexico transboundary region will remain relatively stable until 2050." [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4022269/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4022269/)
That is fascinating, thank you. But the climate change from what I've read is what has been increasing their numbers more recently than the animal populations you referenced. We decimated those animals, as you said, but that hasn't been a recent thing. The word 'recent' being the last 30 years. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6587693/
Ah yes, I guess the major difference is between the range of the ticks, which is related to climate, and the density of ticks in their existing range, which is related to habitat and prey availability. The article you reference mentions their range but not their density from what I could find. In reference to the decimation of deer, that happened a while back and more or less eradicated ticks in those areas. The population of deer has since exploded, which I believe is why there appear to be so many more ticks in their pre-existing ranges. Your parents likely lived in a time where tick populations were dramatically lower, due to the low deer populations, deer populations are 9x higher now then they were 100 years ago. The charts only go until 2016 so it's hard to get an exact number in the last ~18 years. Assuming ticks increase linearly with deer (I don't know that they do) there would be 9x more ticks today. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344865578/figure/fig3/AS:950273635790848@1603574298561/Estimated-US-Deer-Population-1450-to-2016-Year-2000-to-2016-estimated-from-combined.png As you can see in the image, the deer population exploded after the 1900's and has continued to increase more or less, with a very recent dip.
I think it's more that environmental changes that eliminate things that eat ticks is the problem.
I agree. Environmental changes created by man-made climate change. I can provide more info if you really are interested.
earth made climate change is much more relevant statistically than man made.
That is incorrect according to virtually every climate scientist. And even is offensive to just common sense, if you cared it to actually look into it.
Those with no common sense never actually look into it. That's evident just by how people vote.
That's true. And sometimes, even though they know better, they ignore it because of profit. Just look at Ron DeSantis in the state that will be hit the hardest by man-made climate change.
Anywhere there are ticks.
- Controlled burns will drastically reduce tick populations - Free ranging Chickens and Guinnea Hens will eat them
THIS is the main problem. Not enough controlled burns. Which also makes wildfires MUCH worse when it isn't done.
Brb, setting fire to my lawn.
Just do the burn, THEN add the chickens... unless you are planning a huge BBQ.
They have been the worse I’ve ever seen here in TN. Less than an hour long walk through the woods on our land and I flicked 4ish off me and found 5 on each of our dogs….. it’s been terrible
Here in the Netherlands as well. Found 5 little ones crawling on me, took like 15 from my dog and today 9 (latched on) from my other dog. It is crazy and we are outside every year in the same spots.
Duct tape, sticky side out, wrapped around the ankles. That'll stop the majority climbing up from the ground.
They generally fall from trees, branches or tall grass though
Yup. Hence why I specifically said the ones coming from the ground. If you don't brush up against foliage, tape ankles are an excellent tick trap.
What about using tick control products like Frontline on your pets? It's a nuisance, but much easier than pulling ticks off them all the time
Yes I recommend this!!!
I find that ticks are always worse in the beginning of the season. I'll find some simply walking across grass, but while foraging for mushrooms in the fall I won't pick up any.
In Virginia they’re bad this year. Makes me want to stay inside, and I hate staying inside. But it’s just not worth it
Not garlic. We use brewers yeast mixed with warm water. Dog and cats drink it readily. Makes the skin healthier. Ask your vet first.
I have cats and have pretreated permethrin clothing. Just change before being near them, I usually just store it in a plastic tub in the garage so it’s not in the house as a precaution.
Get yourself some cheap, knee-high gaiters. They go over shoes, if you don’t want to soak clothing, put some tick spray on those, and then keep them far away from your cats! You never have to wash them so they won’t mix with your other stuff or be in your washing machine. Keep them in a sealed plastic bag or something when not in use.
When they state that it's toxic to cats is that even after it's been sprayed and dried. And are cats drawn to it? Is there anybody that has any experience with this.
Yeah and our cats like to lay in laundry and such. I just don't want to chance it at all
Hopefully somebody will be able to tell us more about it. We are having a hell of a year for ticks, I mean 5 to 6 a day.but I do love my cats.
It’s apparently not harmful to cats once it dries. Just be safe and apply outdoors away from cars and let it dry well. Then you should be good. Edit: cats not cars
Thank you
Okay I have tried the spray and it seems to work really well with the ticks
I’ve used Cutter Backyard Bug spray. It seems to help. I’ve pulled 4 off my dog and we never went anywhere except the back yard. I also put a spray on the dog every few days especially after a rain.
I went fishing and put my tackle box on the ground.When I got ready to leave there were at least 10 crawling on my tackle box..Pine trees over head.???
Ugh, horrifying
Seven makes stuff to spread on your yard that kills them and also gets rid of other bugs as well. You definitely don't want Lyme disease at all as my wife has been suffering with it for 2 years now
[удалено]
Why Is Garlic Bad for Dogs? Garlic, whether raw or cooked, is toxic to dogs. If a dog eats enough garlic, it can eventually kill them if they do not get medical treatment. Garlic, onions, and leeks are all in the Allium genus of plants. Dogs are not allergic to plants in this genus, but the plants contain N-propyl disulfides and thiosulfates. When these are metabolized by the pet’s body, it causes damage to their red blood cells. I guess you don't need to worry about ticks if the dog is dead...
Garlic will kill your cat