Ticks: Tiny Arachnids, Large Health Issue
- Mahoosuc Land Trust
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
By Linda Ray
After the drought last summer and super-cold temperatures in December, my neighbor ruminated that perhaps these conditions would blessedly decrease the deer tick population in Maine. That question sparked my interest, but I had another compelling reason to look into this topic. Last summer, my dear friend, an accomplished singer from central Maine, became unaccountably, very rapidly, seriously ill. After 18 hours in the ER and near organ shutdown, she was diagnosed with the deer tick–borne disease, anaplasmosis. After a simple course of doxycycline, she survived to sing again (at Carnegie Hall next year). Her health scare was a reminder to me that it can happen to anyone who goes for a walk or hike in woods or fields, rakes leaves, has a dog or outdoor/indoor cat, or gardens. To be infected can be a very serious health risk and even life-threatening if not diagnosed and treated.
Tick-borne diseases appear to be increasing because of environmental factors such as land-use methods and climate change.
Anaplasmosis is carried by the same infected black-legged deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) that also carries Lyme disease, babesiosis, and Powassan virus. This tick is a tiny, blood-sucking parasite that can transmit these diseases to humans, pets, and other animals. Did this summer’s drought or December’s cold weather affect their population? Probably not. Ticks do need high humidity and can die quickly in drought conditions, but they have amazing coping mechanisms. Their bodies shut down to protect their metabolism and prevent water loss as they seek shelter under leaf litter. Winter doesn’t seem to be a problem, even cold Maine temperatures, as long as they have shelter. Now, with warmer, wetter winters in general, black-legged ticks are surviving just fine. In fact, deer ticks are becoming more of a year-round plague because of milder winters.
Tick-borne diseases appear to be increasing because of environmental factors such as land-use methods and climate change. Land-use changes such as forest fragmentation occur when blocks of forest are divided into smaller areas to make way for human endeavors such as roads, agriculture, and buildings. These edge environments are not conducive to the animal diversity woods and forests provide, allowing tick hosts such as white-tailed deer and white-footed mouse populations to expand and thrive, unhindered by predators.
What can we do to protect ourselves from these nasty little arachnids that seem to be here to stay? We must be diligent, with no exceptions. The links below, in the Sources & Resources section, provide protective measures to follow to stay safe while maintaining a quality outdoor life.
These wily little creatures can sometimes get past our protective measures and, if they are infected, their bite can make us sick. Even without finding an embedded tick or the characteristic rash, a sudden headache, rash, fever, flu-like symptoms, body aches, and malaise could be the first sign of a tick-borne illness and should be attended to immediately. Early treatment is the key.
Sources & Resources:
Photo Credit: This photo from the CDC is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Federal Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:28383-adult-nymph-i-scapularis.webp
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