Disgusting photo of tick courtesy of The New York Times
We thought it appropriate to pass on this story from yesterday's New York Times, given that we had just discussed flea and tick control in our previous post. Oh the irony of enjoying a mild winter! So many of us were walking with our pooches in January and February without fear of breaking a leg (or worse) on thick sheets of ice, or dressing Fido in woolen coats and mini snowshoes to stave off the bitter winds.
But with that mild winter and very early spring come...disgusting ticks! (see above)
While entomologists say that the mild winter is unlikely to spawn a huge increase in the tick population this spring and summer, those nasty critters will be out enjoying the warm weather a month or so earlier, just like we are. According to a public health entomologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, "It's not that the warm weather created more ticks, but it has created the opportunity for both humans [and their canine companions] to be more active, and to make contact with each other."
"Bug doctors", as we like to call them, are also hopeful that combining this fresh data on tick bites and Lyme disease from both humans and dogs "could assist health officials in targeting Lyme disease prevention efforts." One dog and its owner mentioned in this article both tested positive for Lyme disease-the human had symptoms, the dog apparently had none. Because some of these ticks "are the size of a pepper flake", they can be easily missed, at least until they start gorging themselves and become rotund. So the best efforts are preventative: "...dog owners should be applying tick lotion and checking their dogs (and presumably themselves), every day."
We've got to stay vigilant!
