The recent warm weather has brought Maine’s deadly deer ticks out of winter dormancy and they are looking for an easy meal. Blood from any mammal will do.
The number of ticks submitted for testing at the University of Maine has steadily increased since the start of the year, according to Griffin Dill, tick lab coordinator. His lab went from receiving one or two samples a day since Jan. 1 to getting 20 on Monday this week, he said.
There are yearly fluctuations in tick activity and some of that is weather related. But experts are saying here in Maine nothing about this past winter’s erratic weather suggests it will have an impact on tick numbers one way or the other.
“This is the week when historically we start to see that increase in submissions,” said Griffin Dill, tick lab coordinator at The University of Maine. “We are just starting to hit that increase and start of the spring peak numbers.”
Anyone hoping the odd weather from this past winter kept ticks from surviving is out of luck.
That’s bad news for anyone or anything that spends time outside in Maine. Humans, pets, wildlife and livestock are all potential hosts for the deer tick. All are also at risk of contracting Lyme disease or other infections from an infected tick.
Lyme disease is a serious illness that can cause rashes, joint and nerve pain and inflammation of the spinal cord.
Lack of snow and a fairly robust frost layer may have killed off some of the overwintering deer ticks, but Dill said not enough to make a difference in their overall numbers.
“I feel like every spring for the past five years we are having the same conversation,” Dill said. “We talk about a weird winter and what it will mean for ticks.”
Looking back to last year, Dill pointed out that the weather had been up and down with periods of warming conditions breaking up the cold spells. And there were still deer ticks in the spring.
Last spring was a bit cooler than average, which cut down on the adult deer tick activity as summer approached.
“It’s like looking into that crystal ball and wondering when will things truly warm up?” Dill said. “Will we revert back to a colder spring like last year or will this trajectory of warmer weather keep up?”
The adult deer ticks currently active are the ones that did not find a suitable host on which to feed all winter. Instead, they hunkered down and went dormant under leaves and other vegetation.
Now fully awake — and hungry — these adult ticks need to find a warm-blooded host for a blood meal if they are to mate and reproduce.
Since humans make a perfectly good host and provider of a meal for deer ticks, it’s not too early to start tick avoidance behavior if you are going outside.
The ticks are commonly found in wooded, leafy and shrubby areas. To help limit exposure, the Maine Center for Disease Control recommends avoiding areas of known tick habitat, using an approved tick repellent, conducting a thorough all-body tick check when coming in from the outdoors and removing clothing when you get home from any areas of tick activity. Put those clothes in a dryer before washing at high heat for 10 to 15 minutes to kill any hidden ticks.
“It’s a very good thing to consider if you are out hiking or doing any other winter activity and it’s above freezing,” Dill said. “It’s less likely you will have a tick on you than in the summer, but the possibility is still there and it’s a good habit anytime to conduct those checks.”
