Monday 5 October 2015

They're back: Ticks

Poor Dorah!
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month however, they are back up and running, as always, in the fall.



The ticks had slowed down in the summer heat. They are back. Daisy has brought one home every day for three days. We just grab a piece of tape, and stick it on, lifting the tick away.

In 2014 there were 145 confirmed cases of Lyme disease reported in Ontario, 628 in Canada in 2013
It is best, of course, to remove them before they become attached and engorged. Lots of neighbours have been successfully treated for Lyme Disease.

We use tweezers to remove them if they are NOT attached, including the proboscis.

2015

I've been keeping specific statistics of them for two years. In 2015, TOTAL 72, and we have another 2 months to go! In 2014, we harvested 78, but that went right up to November, when we must have had snow and frost. In 2013, TOTAL 89.


2014



2013


Lyme disease
 numbers ticking upward
In the past five years, reported cases of Lyme disease in Canada have jumped nearly 400 %, increasing to 628 in 2013 from 128 in 2009, according to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.


A tick survey in Huron County turned up three blacklegged ticks with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Huron County Public Health Inspector Keshia Hackett says in all, 69 of the 170 ticks collected were of the blacklegged variety.

5 comments:

Out To Pasture said...

Wow, you have an awful lot of ticks, Jennifer. Definitely a health concern. I had to have my sheltie treated for Lyme disease. I never go for walks without long pants tucked into rubber boots. Nasty little buggers!

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Another thing to keep you busy! YAM xx

William Kendall said...

Poor Dorah indeed!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

oh, no .. that sounds terrible. i know as a kid i had more trouble with them than i do now ... the hubby is the one that gets the most in this house. have a great week. hope you are well. ( :

Red said...

I haven't encountered any ticks here this summer. We do have lots of deer in the area and I do walk through the bush.