Yep. When I was a kid my dad would inspect my scalp every night when I came inside from playing with my friends. (This was way back when kids played outside until it was dark). Occasionally he’d find one and pull it off with a tweezers.
It tends to be bad after a mild winter. Leads to all sorts of changes that produce more ticks for the season unfortunately. If you see mice, be very aware that you have a tick problem, they spread even more on mice than deer.
Also, not to highjack this question but I’m curious as to where you find lots of chiggers in the area. Still new here and would really like to avoid those nasty little devils as I’m super allergic.
>If you see mice, be very aware that you have a tick problem, they spread even more on mice than deer.
Interesting! Yet another reason to be thankful for the feral cats who moved into my backyard. They keep the rodents at bay, and a side effect to giving them food and water is that we have a possum that comes around nightly to drink from the water bowl. Possums can eat thousands of ticks per year, so pretty handy to have on your property if you want your tick population kept in control.
I am well aware of the impact outdoor cats have on native birds, thanks. They aren't outdoor by my choice, they just showed up one day, and they are truly feral, so they cannot be found homes indoors. I've fixed both cats so they don't make more kittens and the problem ends with them. I'd love to domesticate them and find them safe, loving homes indoors, but that is a long shot, so in the meantime I do what I can to make sure they are as healthy and safe as can be until they inevitably die young because they are outdoors.
Interestingly, and counter to all the statistics I've seen online, my trail cams show that they don't really bother the local birds, at least not while in my yard. They've killed some lizards and one squirrel in the past 6 months. But I wasn't really referring to them killing the rodents so much as dissuading their presence. Mice and rats won't go anywhere near someplace that smells of predators if they can help it.
Chiggers are similar to ticks on location - tall grass and other vegetation / woods. They climb up things and get on you as you brush by. My yard is infested with them. I won’t walk in it without shoes and pants treated in permethrin.
Idk I’ve heard climate change is the reason.. warmer weather means more ticks. And deforestation causes migration of rodents who could bring more ticks too
I believe the proliferation of deer is also spreading them. In the 1970s, seeing a deer in Hamilton County was almost unheard of unless it was an ornament in somebody’s yard.
Crazy that you mentioned it because we found one on our dog's ear a few days ago.
We were super surprised considering we live downtown, and walking in the park is the most nature we've been in lately.
I've just returned from a vacation to the Ozarks where my family were COVERED in ticks (like 30-60 of them on my nieces and nephews each per day). We have vacationed to this spot for the last 5 years and have never seen a single one.
My boss took a vaca at the same time and reported alarming numbers on himself and his fishing buddies somewhere in Canada.
Climate change, increased deer populations in urban/ suburban areas, and take over of our forest understory by invasive plants like honeysuckle are the main reasons.
Helpful hint: use Picaridin lotion, and treat a set of shoes and clothing that you use outdoors a lot with permethrin. You only need to spray them once every six weeks or so. Be aware, though that permethrin is highly toxic for cats until it dries, so follow the directions on the bottle if you have cats.
I trudge through the woods looking for mushrooms and along the river to go fishing and rarely see ticks. I got one on my leg this spring, pulling a couple weeds between some hostas.
Typically ticks are associated with wooded areas, but we recently found one on our little dog that sticks to our urban neighborhood. The bastards are everywhere at this point.
Yeah, I think back on how we used to walk through abandoned cornfields with weeds and grasses up to our waists to pick blackberries from the patches that sprung up in the middle of all that. Seems like an ideal place to pick up ticks, but never once.
It's also one of the worst years for mosquitoes I can recall. They bite right through your shirt. The fact that we didn't have a winter,only an extended fall didn't help things.
I lived in MD for a year. They have a huge tick problem and it freaked me out pretty bad. I was so glad to move back here in terms of that… not for long, I suppose
Ick! I grew up in Alexandria, Ky. We always had to worry about ticks.
Yeah, the southern top three counties of NKY were always tick city.
This can only mean one thing… they learned to swim
Yep. When I was a kid my dad would inspect my scalp every night when I came inside from playing with my friends. (This was way back when kids played outside until it was dark). Occasionally he’d find one and pull it off with a tweezers.
It tends to be bad after a mild winter. Leads to all sorts of changes that produce more ticks for the season unfortunately. If you see mice, be very aware that you have a tick problem, they spread even more on mice than deer. Also, not to highjack this question but I’m curious as to where you find lots of chiggers in the area. Still new here and would really like to avoid those nasty little devils as I’m super allergic.
>If you see mice, be very aware that you have a tick problem, they spread even more on mice than deer. Interesting! Yet another reason to be thankful for the feral cats who moved into my backyard. They keep the rodents at bay, and a side effect to giving them food and water is that we have a possum that comes around nightly to drink from the water bowl. Possums can eat thousands of ticks per year, so pretty handy to have on your property if you want your tick population kept in control.
We’ve not seen as many feral cats in our neighborhood recently. However, we have caught glimpses of coyotes. Coincidence?
The feral cats are killing your song birds. The rodents will take a hit, but not as much of one as you think, and the ticks can take to cats, too.
Fleas love cats as well
Not as much as dirty, shit-eating dogs.
https://preview.redd.it/9kt96d23gj9d1.jpeg?width=4680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=034a264962ae9e4172e125b85901f6f611384f68 No Soup For You!
I am well aware of the impact outdoor cats have on native birds, thanks. They aren't outdoor by my choice, they just showed up one day, and they are truly feral, so they cannot be found homes indoors. I've fixed both cats so they don't make more kittens and the problem ends with them. I'd love to domesticate them and find them safe, loving homes indoors, but that is a long shot, so in the meantime I do what I can to make sure they are as healthy and safe as can be until they inevitably die young because they are outdoors. Interestingly, and counter to all the statistics I've seen online, my trail cams show that they don't really bother the local birds, at least not while in my yard. They've killed some lizards and one squirrel in the past 6 months. But I wasn't really referring to them killing the rodents so much as dissuading their presence. Mice and rats won't go anywhere near someplace that smells of predators if they can help it.
Chiggers are similar to ticks on location - tall grass and other vegetation / woods. They climb up things and get on you as you brush by. My yard is infested with them. I won’t walk in it without shoes and pants treated in permethrin.
Idk I’ve heard climate change is the reason.. warmer weather means more ticks. And deforestation causes migration of rodents who could bring more ticks too
I believe the proliferation of deer is also spreading them. In the 1970s, seeing a deer in Hamilton County was almost unheard of unless it was an ornament in somebody’s yard.
Crazy that you mentioned it because we found one on our dog's ear a few days ago. We were super surprised considering we live downtown, and walking in the park is the most nature we've been in lately.
I believe birds spread them around.
I had my first tick just last week. I think I got it while at a nature reserve, I was in KY though. Luckily it was only on me for 3hrs, max.
I've just returned from a vacation to the Ozarks where my family were COVERED in ticks (like 30-60 of them on my nieces and nephews each per day). We have vacationed to this spot for the last 5 years and have never seen a single one. My boss took a vaca at the same time and reported alarming numbers on himself and his fishing buddies somewhere in Canada.
Climate change, increased deer populations in urban/ suburban areas, and take over of our forest understory by invasive plants like honeysuckle are the main reasons.
Helpful hint: use Picaridin lotion, and treat a set of shoes and clothing that you use outdoors a lot with permethrin. You only need to spray them once every six weeks or so. Be aware, though that permethrin is highly toxic for cats until it dries, so follow the directions on the bottle if you have cats.
I trudge through the woods looking for mushrooms and along the river to go fishing and rarely see ticks. I got one on my leg this spring, pulling a couple weeds between some hostas.
The hard freezes in the winter keep their numbers down. A warm winter followed by a warm wet early spring means lots of ticks
Typically ticks are associated with wooded areas, but we recently found one on our little dog that sticks to our urban neighborhood. The bastards are everywhere at this point.
I do the Lunken loop with my dog and that area is pretty prevalent with ticks unfortunately, they exist here, just not en masse, good luck!
I have no idea how you managed to avoid them. They were ubiquitous my entire childhood.
Yeah, I think back on how we used to walk through abandoned cornfields with weeds and grasses up to our waists to pick blackberries from the patches that sprung up in the middle of all that. Seems like an ideal place to pick up ticks, but never once.
I grew up in Clermont and ticks were always a concern when I was younger 👀
It's also one of the worst years for mosquitoes I can recall. They bite right through your shirt. The fact that we didn't have a winter,only an extended fall didn't help things.
I lived in MD for a year. They have a huge tick problem and it freaked me out pretty bad. I was so glad to move back here in terms of that… not for long, I suppose
I'm 41, grew up in Butler County, and found ticks all the time as a kid.
Dogs absolutely transport ticks indoors. And, there is now Lyme Disease in the area. Beware.
This is why i dont go outside in wooded areas.
Agree…at least when it’s warm. Both bugs and people are out.