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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

#71

Post by mr_toad »

pfdietz wrote: post #14
tamimio wrote: post #12

I got bitten by a mosquito in Ottawa a couple years ago that sent me to the hospital.. I stopped near the river while cycling to see a raccoon for few seconds, was more than enough for that lil sucker to do the job.

There are some potentially very nasty diseases spread by ticks and insects. For example, flaviviruses like West Nile, Dengue, and Powassan (which debilitated and ultimately killed the wife of Canadian fantasy author Charles de Lint.)

Not to mention Malaria, which kills over half a million people a year.

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

#72

Post by to11mtm »

SoftTalker wrote: post #31
Dumblydorr wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

Correct.

Texas has the 'Lone star Tick' primarily. But in Michigan for example we've had the Blacklegged tick (which is the main species known to carry Lyme in our state...) for a looong time.

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

#74

Post by BigTTYGothGF »

pfdietz wrote: post #14
tamimio wrote: post #12

I got bitten by a mosquito in Ottawa a couple years ago that sent me to the hospital.. I stopped near the river while cycling to see a raccoon for few seconds, was more than enough for that lil sucker to do the job.

There are some potentially very nasty diseases spread by ticks and insects. For example, flaviviruses like West Nile, Dengue, and Powassan (which debilitated and ultimately killed the wife of Canadian fantasy author Charles de Lint.)

Arthropods of all (most) sorts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbovirus

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

#75

Post by andrewl »

pluralmonad wrote: post #68

I've spread beneficial nematodes several times before and the following 2-3 years I get notably fewer tick bites. They are a bit of a pain to spread over any significant area.

Can you give us some more detail on the nematodes, or point us to an article?

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

#76

Post by andrewl »

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?

I think it's that they need humidity or else they dry out. So hot and humid is fine. Hot and arid is what they have a problem with.

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

#77

Post by bluerooibos »

mantas wrote: post #17
bluerooibos wrote: post #15

Another worrying proxy for how deeply climate change is bleeding into everyday life: coffee prices, orange juice prices, and now having to engineer huge trail areas with woodchips just so people can avoid being bitten by exploding tick populations.

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.

> Ticks are a problem regardless.

Ticks in my part of the world were never such a large problem. It was rare that you'd get one on your leg in the field behind our house, and now, you literally can't walk through the grass each year without having 10+ on your legs in a matter of minutes. Warmer and wetter weather and fewer hard winters. The presence of Lyme disease has also increased in them.

I have direct experience of this, so downvote all you want, climate change deniers.

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

#78

Post by cmrdporcupine »

b112 wrote: post #63
Marsymars wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So the issue is that more northerly areas are getting much more variance in temperature and lacking long deep consistent cold periods. It impacts the population, but even a couple solid weeks of -20C weather doesn't seem to be enough to eradicate them.

Ticks have always been around Ottawa, and even in 2011? I recall -40C for well over a week, and obviously cold temps around that week. Insects lay eggs, and also go dormant under fallen leaves typically. The snow + leaves insulates them, it's how live insects survive the winter. If you watch robins in the spring, before the ground thaws, you'll see them flipping over leaves. They're eating loads of insects hiding, mo…

The lowest recorded temperature in Ottawa in the last 40 years was -33.1c in 1996. It hasn't been down to -40 since like 1911.

You might be recalling wind chill temperatures, which would not be relevant here. They're subjective perceived temperatures for hairless apes.

However it does occasionally get to (real) -40C ish in Edmonton area, and they now have populations of blacklegged ticks. But very small populations.

Like I said above, the issue is not the absolute lows or highs, it's durations of cold, which impact their ability to recover and produce large quantities of eggs in the spring. This was literally in an article I was reading about ticks the other day, don't make me hunt for it.

Black legged ticks are not new to Ontario, but they absolutely are to places like central Alberta. And the Lone Star tick is moving north for similar reasons and will be established here in Ontario shortly as well.

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

#79

Post by intrasight »

mr_toad wrote: post #71
pfdietz wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are some potentially very nasty diseases spread by ticks and insects. For example, flaviviruses like West Nile, Dengue, and Powassan (which debilitated and ultimately killed the wife of Canadian fantasy author Charles de Lint.)

Not to mention Malaria, which kills over half a million people a year.

And has killed a large fraction of all humans who have ever lived.
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