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Reducing tick density along recreational trails in Ottawa, Canada

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Re: Reducing tick density along recreational trails in Ottawa, Canada

#31

Post by SoftTalker »

Dumblydorr wrote: post #20
mantas wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ticks are a problem regardless. And they don’t like too much heat. So climate warming may even reduce their population in some parts. Or, more likely, move them up north. Giving relieve to some and headache to others… Lyme disease vaccine would help a ton though. I’ve had Lyme 3 times by now. Thankfully encephalitis stab is a thing.

They don’t like heat? That seems incorrect. If true, Then why are they a huge problem in TX and other southerly areas, and are only now spreading north?

Different species I belive. Ticks in Texas are differnent from ticks in Ottowa. Most lyme disease in the US is concentrated in the northeast and northern great lakes states and into Canada (though it is spreading over the past few decades).

https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/data-research/facts-stats/lyme-dise...

Re: Reducing tick density along recreational trails in Ottawa, Canada

#32

Post by SoftTalker »

mihular wrote: post #21
mantas wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ticks are a problem regardless. And they don’t like too much heat. So climate warming may even reduce their population in some parts. Or, more likely, move them up north. Giving relieve to some and headache to others… Lyme disease vaccine would help a ton though. I’ve had Lyme 3 times by now. Thankfully encephalitis stab is a thing.

AFAIK there was a Lyme disease vaccine, but was discontinued, probably because it wasn't effective enough, I don't remember the details.

Typically because it's rare enough that the cost/side-effect risk of the vaccine isn't judged to be worth it.

Humans generally aren't vaccinated for Rabies either, unless you are e.g. a veterinarian who might have a higher chance of exposure to it.

Re: Reducing tick density along recreational trails in Ottawa, Canada

#33

Post by bitwalker »

Dumblydorr wrote: post #20
mantas wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ticks are a problem regardless. And they don’t like too much heat. So climate warming may even reduce their population in some parts. Or, more likely, move them up north. Giving relieve to some and headache to others… Lyme disease vaccine would help a ton though. I’ve had Lyme 3 times by now. Thankfully encephalitis stab is a thing.

They don’t like heat? That seems incorrect. If true, Then why are they a huge problem in TX and other southerly areas, and are only now spreading north?

They seem to be much less active on hot days compared to cooler days in my experience - though I can't say why. I've definitely observed a difference over the years though.

That said, whether it is hotter or cooler doesn't make much of a difference in terms of how you go about your day - you pretty much have to assume you can encounter them regardless.

Re: Reducing tick density along recreational trails in Ottawa, Canada

#34

Post by sarchertech »

Dumblydorr wrote: post #19
twoWhlsGud wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And if you're wearing long sleeves and long pants, you can apply permethrin in a semi permanent way to your clothing to discourage ticks and mosquitoes: https://www.consumerreports.org/health/insect-repellent/is-p...

Do not do so if a cat will be anywhere near the clothes or compound. It’s super harmful to cats.

Lethal dermal exposure is somewhere near 100mg/kg.

I probably wouldn’t wear permethrin treated pants and let a cat sit on my lap, but “anywhere near the clothes” is a pretty big exaggeration of the danger.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10822630/

Re: Reducing tick density along recreational trails in Ottawa, Canada

#35

Post by cortesoft »

umpalumpaaa wrote: post #3
opwieurposiu wrote: post #2

If you are out in the woods and you come upon a roughly circular area of crushed down grass, that is a deer bed. Try and avoid walking through it, deer beds are full of ticks. The deer trails are a lot harder to avoid.

I avoid grass all together- especially in the woods.

My body helps me with this goal by being ridiculously allergic to all grasses.

Re: Reducing tick density along recreational trails in Ottawa, Canada

#36

Post by zukzuk »

e28eta wrote: post #11
washbasin wrote: post #7

Through a combination of two of my hobbies, I learned that pyrethroids are toxic to aquatic animals. Glad to see that they used "locations [that] were situated away from waterbodies". Pyrethroids are very powerful tools for insect control (and non-toxic to humans) but any place where you have runoff or ground seepage is going to be a problem. Aren't those places the ones most likely for ticks to thrive -- areas near…

They’re also very toxic to cats, which is why dogs & cats have different flea & tick medicines.

Also bad news if your dog is prone to seizures, as mine was.

Re: Reducing tick density along recreational trails in Ottawa, Canada

#37

Post by felix-the-cat »

kbaker wrote: post #24

We have (had?) some ticks in our backyard and I came across these which I thought was a clever attack angle: tick tubes. Permethrin-soaked cotton balls in a tube, mice find them and build nests out of the freely available cotton, ticks that the mice have gathered while walking around die when they come back to the nest.

It does work a little, but it's even more effective to just get some chickens. I did find permethrin works great on clothing - when I used to go hunting a lot I'd get ticks on me every time, and the thing is they climb off of your boots in the car and go under the seats or wherever so you don't get bitten until three days later when you're driving back from grocery shopping or whatever. After I started using permethrin and sprayed the floor of my car with it I never saw another tick again.

Re: Reducing tick density along recreational trails in Ottawa, Canada

#38

Post by zukzuk »

SoftTalker wrote: post #29
mantas wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ticks are a problem regardless. And they don’t like too much heat. So climate warming may even reduce their population in some parts. Or, more likely, move them up north. Giving relieve to some and headache to others… Lyme disease vaccine would help a ton though. I’ve had Lyme 3 times by now. Thankfully encephalitis stab is a thing.

So there's no natural immunity after having it once? How would a vaccine work then?

There are many strains. You will develop immunity to one strain, but not the others.

I assume a vaccine would try to be multivalent.

Re: Reducing tick density along recreational trails in Ottawa, Canada

#39

Post by bilegeek »

mihular wrote: post #21
mantas wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ticks are a problem regardless. And they don’t like too much heat. So climate warming may even reduce their population in some parts. Or, more likely, move them up north. Giving relieve to some and headache to others… Lyme disease vaccine would help a ton though. I’ve had Lyme 3 times by now. Thankfully encephalitis stab is a thing.

AFAIK there was a Lyme disease vaccine, but was discontinued, probably because it wasn't effective enough, I don't remember the details.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2870557/
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