2017 has been a crazy year for tick populations. We have been working around the clock here to make sure we can alleviate the problems of residents on the east end of Long Island caused by ticks on their population. In our work, we have found that this year the tick populations have exploded. But why this year in particular? These extra ticks may have come from an unlikely source, the acorn.
You may have recently seen a new type of mosquito here on Long Island. It is black, with white stripes on its body and legs. This is the Asian Tiger Mosquito or Aedes albopictus. This mosquito is an invasive species to Long Island. The story of the Asian Tiger Mosquito on Long Island and America as a whole oddly begins with a stack of used tires in Japan.
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It’s pretty well known at this point that many ticks carry dangerous illnesses so it can be alarming finding a tick on your skin, especially so if they are already burrowed in. The best way to prevent having a tick bite you is preventing them from getting on your skin altogether, they do say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure after all. We recommend getting your property sprayed for ticks to eliminate these pests on your property of course, but we can’t protect everywhere! If you are hiking, camping, or on vacation, here are some strategies to avoid being bitten by a tick.
May is Lyme disease awareness month!
So, what is Lyme disease? We don’t think there has ever been an illness that has been so incredibly misunderstood before in the course of history. Is it hard to catch and easy to get rid of? Easy to catch and hard to get rid of? Or something in-between? Is Lyme disease a bacteria? A virus? A bacteriophage? A parasite? How do you get it, and how do you know if you have it?
The best way to answer these questions and provide the most accurate information available is to cite peer-reviewed scientific articles from medical journals. But no worries! We will translate them into plain English for you!
One would think that something as tiny as a tick would not survive freezing cold temperatures under the snow. But actually, they are still alive, lurking, hidden in the leaves, beneath the bushes, conserving energy, waiting for the temperatures to rise. And now, here they come (insert ominous impending shark attack theme here)! Actually, ticks are predatory creatures like sharks – only just a wee bit smaller. What attracts a tick?
It is common knowledge at this point that there are a wide variety of diseases one can pick up if they are unfortunate enough to be bitten by a tick. One of the more debilitating, and well known diseases is Lyme Disease which can, if left untreated affect people for the entirety of the rest of their lives. This disease is acquired through deer ticks, and symptoms include a target shaped rash where the tick bit the person, fever, chills, and fatigue.
Another terrible disease that can be acquired from ticks on Long Island is rocky mountain spotted fever. Rocky mountain spotted fever can be spread through the American dog tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick, and brown dog tick according to the Center for Disease Control. Symptoms of this disease include fever, a spotted rash, headache, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. So we have found out two of the more common diseases associated with tick bites; Lyme Disease and rocky mountain spotted fever. More recently however, a new phenomenon has been occurring in people bitten by the Lone Star Tick.
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It’s winter here on Long Island and while the amount of bugs we see regularly dwindles in the winter time we know they will be back once spring time rolls around again. While it is usually bitterly cold outside there can be warm periods in the winter where the temperature can get above even 60 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a great time to go outside and enjoy a brief intermission from the cold and get a little taste of spring with the added bonus of there being no ticks, mosquitoes or other disease carrying bugs to worry about. Except that may not be entirely true.
