This column is being written on my back porch, during a ridiculously warm day in February. The weather app on my phone says the temperature is 73 degrees, and I’m wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt.
Light, intermittent breezes gently tousle my notes. A distant wind chime dances. Patches of cumulus scatter across a blue skythat’s complemented with wisps of cirrus.
It’s a day when thoughts of spring well up as naturally asspring water emerges from the ground high upon an Allegheny slope-side.
But there’s a downside to theapproaching growing season, hinted at by the housefly that just landed on my laptop screen.
Friends of mine experienced it during a recent outing at QuemahoningLake on an earlier, unseasonably warm day. They walked out of the woods to discover ticks – more than a dozen of them – on their clothes and bodies.
Experts here in Pennsylvania wouldn’t be surprised. They are predicting that our woods and grassy areas will have an abnormally large population of these nasty little vectors this year because of the comparatively wet and snowy winter we’ve been having.
Cold and dry winters knock back the tick populations, but snow cover provides needed moisture. While we’ve had some real cold spells, they’ve usually been accompanied by snow cover.
Which means increasing numbers of these creatures are emerging on days like this day, climbing out to the ends of low-lying bushes and shrubs, where they wait with legs extended – “questing,” the experts call it – readyto latch onto a passing host.
Frankly, there’s not much good news as far as ticks are concerned these days. Not only are there more of them, but more of the black-legged (aka deer) ticks are carrying Lyme disease – as many as 50 percent in some areas.
Even worse, some ticks carry more than one type of infection. And all of the tick-borne infections can cause serious health issues if left untreated.
On the positive side, tick-caused infections including Lyme disease can be cured if detected and treated quickly enough.
Springtime is when we need to be most wary. Tiny little nymphs, which also carry the infectious agents, emerge in the spring and are harder to detect than the much-larger adults. For that reason, most Lyme disease cases occur in the spring.
When heading into tick territory, don’t depend upon insect repellent.Get ready now by spraying your clothing with Permethrin, which kills ticks. (Be careful not to get it on your skin.) In particular, spray boots, socks, gaiters, pants, beltline, shirt collar and your hat.
Dressing in long-sleeved shirts and long pants with light- or white-colors so you can see ticks on your clothes, tucking in your shirt and pant bottoms into your socks, wearing gaiters and a hat, all will help.
If your dog accompanies you, always check him or her carefully outside upon your return home. Check yourself thoroughly. Throw your clothes into a hot drier for 10 minutes to kill any unknown passengers.
If you find a tick, don’t try to remove it by squeezing or twisting it or the tick may regurgitate any bacteria present into you.Use tweezers or a tick tool, grasp the tick near its mouthpart and pull gently until it releases.
Then send the tick to the Northeast Wildlife DNA Lab at East Stroudsburg University for analysis. The lab will identify and test the tick for various diseases and report back to you after about 72 hours, enabling you to seek prompt treatment if exposed. Visit TickChek.com for more information.
Of course all this talk of ticks isn’t enough to keep me from welcoming warmer weather, as I sit on my back porch, listening to the birdsong. Spring can bring it any time.
We’ll all just need to be cautious and prepared when heading into the woods this year. Because the ticks will be waiting.