Preventing tick bites when spending time outdoors has been a cornerstone for protection from tick-borne diseases. A new scientific research paper this year added another method for prevention. The study was done in Scotland with Ixodes ricinus ticks, which are similar to the Ixodes scapularis ticks of the Great Lakes region and transmit some of the same diseases. The researcher found that swishing the vegetation with a walking stick made many ticks drop off the plants to the ground. Ticks “quest” for a host animal by climbing a plant, then waiting for an animal to brush against it and be latched onto. Ticks on the ground are less able to climb aboard a large moving animal like a human. Swishing the stick so that it strikes a plant at least twice before you closely walk past it knocked off most of the ticks in the Scotland study. If there is more than one person in a hiking party, only the leader needs to use the stick if everyone walks the same path. With two or more people in a hiking party, dogs could be given some protection by keeping them leashed and behind the leader who is using the stick.
Post by D. Schimpf
Original article citation:
Wilkie, I.C. (2020). How not to be the perfect host: a simple tactic for avoiding sheep ticks (Ixodes ricinus). The Glasgow Naturalist Online. 27; 2 https://doi.org/10.37208/tgn27209
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