TICKS SUCK!

Ticks really suck.  Not only that, they also carry diseases which can affect humans and our best friends, the dogs.  In my post I will explain why we have so many ticks here in St. Louis County, why ticks are tricky to control, and what you can  do about avoiding tick borne illnesses.  

First I'd like to tell you a little story which made a lasting impression.  Two summers ago, August of 2022, my family and I were on the hunt to buy property to build on.  My Zillow scrolling turned into rolling up on a 10 acre parcel in Wildwood.  Who has time to call realtors and all that stuff, so in typical fashion, I pulled over and jumped out to scout. 

My impulsiveness is evidenced by wearing Hoka running shoes and work out shorts.  I'll just go fast and dodge most of the tall weeds I told myself.  The land was beautiful but pushing through chest high weeds was mandatory if I wanted the full self guided tour.  Half way through, a growing itch began to cover my legs and by the time I poured back on pavement, my legs were fully engulfed by an itching inferno.  

What was I thinking!! Bushwhacking through chest high weeds with work out clothes!  As I drove home, very fast mind you,  I literally felt like my legs were getting eaten off.  I reminded myself with some loud resentment, “I can't believe I did this, I'm an idiot!”.  Rushing in the house I stripped down in the kitchen while on tile and finally took in the full measure of my assailants.  Thousands and thousands (I don’t think I am exaggerating) of tiny leggy bugs covered my legs like I was the beach of normandy.  I didn't want to be a beach.  I should have stayed on pavement.   I was absolutely stunned looking at this army having their Thanksgiving at my expense. 

I was showering and scrubbing within 45 minutes of my bushwhacking and even with an hour of the most intense scrubbing of my life, a full array of itchy bites for 7 to 10 days speckled my legs.  This is not a fear commercial for bug spray, this is just reality for impulsive trespassers who are a little dense.    

Ticks and Chiggers are now my sworn enemy.  I am pretty sure my hitch hikers were chiggers but they could have been seed ticks, the larvae form of ticks.  Where you find one, you find the other and thankfully, you can treat ( destroy, subdue, Kill!!!)  them the same!  

Ticks pose a higher health risk than Chiggers.   Ticks are arachnids which require blood from an animal or person to survive and complete their life cycle. They can be found in the grass, landscaping, and the woods.  Pretty much they are ubiquitous in the wild outdoors which includes your yard.  

What are the real health concerns related to ticks?  Ticks can transmit a number of diseases including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, a few other lesser known viral and bacterial infections.  Lyme disease is the most concerning with an upward trend in the past 20 years.  In fact, one study in Pennsylvania found that 1 out of every 2 female blacklegged Ticks (Ixodes scapularis) carried Lyme disease.  See article and findings:   Tick Lab Article  The increasing spread and incidence of Lyme disease is a real concern.

Deer are not a vector for spreading Lyme disease but they do contribute towards building the tick populations.  A deer can be a vibrant host for hundreds of adult ticks at a time so those ticks can lay eggs and keep the tick populations high.   In Wildwood Missouri where I live, there is an overabundance of deer.  With all those big beautiful mammals eating everyone’s flowers, are also gallons and gallons of tick feeding blood walking around picking up ticks and providing ample nutrition for a high tick population. 

I am not suggesting a Rambo-like assault on our precious deer but what I can suggest are a few steps to reduce the likelihood your pets and family would contract a tick borne illness.  

Clear out honeysuckle along the fringes of your property.  These invasive shrubs not only give ticks a jumping off spot, but they are an invasive species.  Every honeysuckle you rip out, a fairy gets their wings (this is not verified) and ticks loose ambush cover.  

Keep your yard mowed and weedy back areas brush hogged or cleared.  Adult ticks like a perch. Tall grass and weeds are just asking for extra hitch hikers.  

Here comes the propaganda, hire Bloom Lawn and Lights to treat your yard for ticks, chiggers, and mosquitos. There must be a balance to everything and using harsh chemicals could have an adverse effect to your long term health.  If you sprayed DEET or other powerful insecticides all over your yard, the ticks would all shit bricks and head for the hills but there could be some collateral effects to your health.  

We have partnered with a local naturopathic doctor to engineer a treatment with low levels of toxicities.  Our goal is to offer our clients solutions to reduce the incidence of tick borne illness while not introducing new problems through environmental toxicities.  For the same price as a standard turf fertilization application, Bloom can treat your yard with a safe product to create a 90% reduced pest environment.  

As long as we have deer and other wildlife in our community, we will have blood sucking parasites, but that doesn't mean you must have these pests in your yard.  If you are looking for a mostly organic approach to keeping ticks and mosquitos at bay, Bloom is here to help.  

For Further Reading: 

Other Links and Articles: 

Relationship between Predator and Deer populations and spread of lyme disease: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1204536109

LIFE CYCLE OF TICKS:

How ticks operate  

There are four stages to a tick life cycle: Egg, Larva, Nymph, and Adult.  The tick must feed on blood to move from larva to nymph and from nymph to adult.  Tick larva do not give us humans or dogs too much grief and there is a very low chance a tick larva will pass on a disease.   

The most common host for a tick larva is a mouse, squirrel or  raccoon. In the larva stage, the tick is the size of a tiny grain.   Mice are the main host species carrying lyme disease and thus, when larva find a mouse carrying lyme disease, the larva becomes a carrier.   Once the larva sucks enough blood, it lets go and falls to the ground in a sleepy post Thanksgiving over indulgent nap.  This nap lasts over the winter and when Spring arrives, the transformed newly molted Nymph emerges ready to find another host.  

In the Nymph stage, the tick now has 8 legs opposed to the 6 legged larva version and is the size of a strawberry seed.  In this stage you will hear them referred to as seed ticks.  When the weather warms, the search begins for deer, rodents, or even a person to get a meal.   Mice however are the main culprit for giving lyme disease to ticks in the larva and nymph stage.  Once attached to their host, the Nymph will feed for 4-5 days, drop off for another molting nap before becoming an adult. 

New adults typically emerge in the fall and if no new host is found, the sneaky little adult ticks will lay low in the leaves or forest floor to ride out the winter.  In fact an adult Lone Star Tick can survive for 430 days without having a single meal!  This is the reason there are so many ticks.  They can live for well over a year without a meal just waiting for you to walk by.