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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

#151

Post by PunchyHamster »

felix-the-cat wrote: post #37
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 permethr…

That's like saying "to stop having to weed the garden just get some goats"

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

#152

Post by sojournerc »

estearum wrote: post #148
sojournerc wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It still gets cold in the winter (negative 15-20 degrees F) where I am, and even though we had a relatively mild winter, ticks are about the same. There's a tendency today to attribute everything to climate change, but it should be backed by actual data. It's a sort of attribution bias that to me just feels lazy. There could be a lot of reasons why ticks might spread. I have lived here 10 years, and haven't noticed a…

... is this a serious comment? > explanations should be backed by data, it's lazy otherwise > I personally haven't noticed an increase The relationship between temperature, wetness/humidity, and tick range is extremely well-understood. Altitude is not a relevant variable compared to and controlling for temperature and humidity. We know under what conditions different tick specie thrive versus die, and we know that as…

Chill out. This is what I replied to:

> No ticks at the altitude I reside. But with global warming it's slowly creeping up towards the towns further down.

I wasn't making any causal claims such as this ^

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

#153

Post by victorbjorklund »

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.

Not sure if it was a deer bed or what but when I was kid I lay down in the grass and when I got up I had over 100 ticks on my shirt.

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

#154

Post by mbac32768 »

DivingForGold wrote: post #60

Don't know which is worse - - contracting Lyme disease, or Parkinson's disease from Permethrin and other pesticide exposure: https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2009/09/occupatio... https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27756609/

Lyme disease is not the only tick disease.

There's alpha gal (red meat allergy ) and also ascending paralysis. And more.

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

#155

Post by ipsento606 »

mantas wrote: post #129
SoftTalker wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Encephalitis is much more rare, but it's much worse than lyme. And there's a stab for it. Meanwhile Lyme is much more common, but much simplier to treat. Which is basically „take antibiotics or 3 to 21 days“ depending on how long it's been since the bite.

What is an "encephalitis stab"?

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

#156

Post by discordance »

DannyBee wrote: post #149
DivingForGold wrote: post #60

Don't know which is worse - - contracting Lyme disease, or Parkinson's disease from Permethrin and other pesticide exposure: https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2009/09/occupatio... https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27756609/

That's easy - lyme disease. If you read the studies you linked, it even shows this very clearly. The first study is talking about constant occupational exposure. By people not wearing basic PPE, over the course of many many years. It's like taking a shower in permethrin every day for 30 minutes. You can pretty much substitute lots of every day things that get absorbed by skin for "permethrin" here and it would cause…

Do you mean people should wear PPE when in tick infested areas?

I generally wear pants, full sleeve shirts, long socks etc whenever I go hiking but have still found ticks on me later on. Or do you mean something else by PPE?

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

#157

Post by jordanb »

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.

This seems like a good way to encourage ticks to develop a permethrin resistance because the cotton will stay in the rodents nest and gradually be reduced in concentration.

Ive been treating my car, hiking clothing and gear with permethrin and haven't had a tick since doing that. Reapply every time you go to the woods or every two weeks if you're in the woods continuously and keep the concentration up.

If my house was in the woods I would also treat the den/mud room.

If you have a rodent problem then control the rodents: manage habitat, trap/kill them, encourage predators like hawks etc.

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

#158

Post by wqaatwt »

skywal_l wrote: post #104
jmye wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given the utter paucity of wolf attacks on humans (vastly, incomprehensibly lower than the rates of Lyme disease), this is a deeply silly thing to worry about. It’s really clear, sometimes, who hasn’t seen a place that isn’t paved.

So I don't necessarily disagree with you but people way more rugged than we are and who didn't even knew what a paved road was decided to get rid of wolves a long time ago. Moreover, what I observed is that urban professional class populations are usually way more in favor of wolves reintroduction than rural working class population.

Well because they would risk losing a handful of sheep occasionally (which the government would likely pay for anyway). Also the prevalence of general cultural hatred of natural habitats and ecosystems prevalent amongst some sections of rural populations.

> was decided to get rid of wolves a long time ago.

Outside of islands like Britain that only really happened in the 1800s after wolves stopped being a threat anyway. Also interestingly enough in quite a few places in Western Europe more area was deforested and exploited for agriculture between the medieval period and the 20th century than now. That naturally made cohabiting with wolves and bears a bit problematic (now there are way more forests and protected areas, of course this only really applies to Europe not North America)

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

#159

Post by ethersteeds »

andrewl wrote: post #75
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?

This site [1] appears to have a good overview.

There's several common beneficial nematode species, selection is based on factors such as their affinity for your intended pest, "cruising depth" in soil, and the current soil temperature.

I see several sources specifically recommending a mix of the Steinernema feltiae (Sf) and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (Hb) beneficial nematode species for tick control applications. Live organisms are shipped with ice packs and typically must be kept refrigerated and applied within a 1 month window.

Application is typically performed with a garden hose and a mixing applicator attachment. Nematodes are sensitive to sunlight, application is typically best performed in the evening to allow them time get underground.

One US vendor in this space I'm familiar with (no affiliation) is Nature's Good Guys. Their product recommendations for tick control are here[2]; they offer applicators as well.

[1] https://progardenreview.com/nematodes-for-tick-control/

[2] https://www.naturesgoodguys.com/collections/tick-control

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

#160

Post by matsemann »

sojournerc wrote: post #152
estearum wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... is this a serious comment? > explanations should be backed by data, it's lazy otherwise > I personally haven't noticed an increase The relationship between temperature, wetness/humidity, and tick range is extremely well-understood. Altitude is not a relevant variable compared to and controlling for temperature and humidity. We know under what conditions different tick specie thrive versus die, and we know that as…

Chill out. This is what I replied to: > No ticks at the altitude I reside. But with global warming it's slowly creeping up towards the towns further down. I wasn't making any causal claims such as this ^

It's a fact, though. You got too hung up on altitude, which I guess is just a proxy for temperature when I compare to neighboring towns. Been mentioned on the news etc that more and more towns get disease bearing ticks here, due to conditions for them getting better with global warming. Not sure why hearing a negative effect from global warming triggered you so?
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