Tick, Tick, Tick: A Different Kind Of Time Bomb

In early April I noticed that the water level in a pond on the property was very low considering we’d just had nearly 10 inches of rain the previous month. I called the landscape contractor that I work with and together we ventured over the top of the berm that makes up the high side of the pond and walked to the dam. We had to go through the tall and stiff stems of last summer’s grasses, reeds, wild roses and weeds and when we reached the dam we quickly saw and fixed the problem.

A week later Nick, the landscape contractor, called me to ask if the fix was still holding. He then matter-of-factly mentioned that when he’d gotten home the day we did our little dam repair he’d found himself covered from toe to head with ticks.

Knowing the kind of brush I’d been in, plus the fact that it was the beginning of prime tick season and that we have had more than our share of deer, mice and other roaming critters, I’d checked myself carefully just after we finished our work. I had also taken another very careful precaution beforehand, one that some find controversial, but we’ll get to that later.

Gardeners on the East End need to be especially knowledgeable and wary of deer ticks because this is an area of the country known to be exceptionally active with ticks, as well as the diseases that they carry and transmit to us. A tick bite can go undetected unless you know where and when to look for them on your body.

The most common disease from deep tick bites, Lyme disease, does not always leave the characteristic rash. And an undetected tick bite from an infected tick can result in months to years of medical treatment.

The good news is that you don’t have to give up gardening, you don’t have to stay out of the woods and you don’t have to stay off the beach. You do need to know something about these creatures though, and with this knowledge you can protect yourself and your family.

First some facts: You can pick up a tick on your lawn, in your garden, in the woods, going through the dunes to the beach and from your pet. It was once thought that the ticks would lie in wait then jump onto a passing host, but we now know that they don’t jump at all. They lie in wait until you come into contact with them, then they hitch a ride. You can brush against one on a garden plant, a twig, on tall grasses or beach grasses that line the dunes that we pass through to get to the ocean and bays.

There’s some interesting research from Connecticut showing that in woods where the invasive shrub Japanese barberry grows, the occurrence of deer ticks can be reduced by up to 60 percent by removing this plant. It’s not that this invasive plant (that should be eradicated anyway) has some magical synergy with ticks, but it’s often the only waist-high plant left in the woods after the deer have browsed all the other vegetation. Hence, since there being no other “take-off” spots left in the woods, the ticks flock to the barberry, which grows to the height that puts the ticks right at the perfect level of attachment for deer and humans.

Once on you, the tick seeks a warm and dark place to hide and feed—on your blood. They will set up shop in the crevice behind your knee, in your groin, your navel, armpit or any fold of tissue that will hide them.

Here’s the good news, though: It takes 24 to 36 hours from the time the tick attaches itself to you before it can inject you with the diseases it may carry. So, if you find one in time and remove it properly, there is an extremely low chance of infection.

When I do find a tick attached to me I use a sharp tweezers to remove it, head and all. Then I wrap it between a folded piece of Scotch Magic Tape, put the date on the tape and attach it to the refrigerator. So, if I had begun to feel ill with cold or flu-like symptoms, or I see the classic tick bite bull’s-eye, the record of the tick bite is taped to the fridge and off the tick and I go to the doctor. I’m a little more manic than most about ticks because in 1985 I spent 10 days in Southampton Hospital with Lyme disease and an associated tick disease called babesiosis.

For those who haven’t heard of babesiosis, there was a great story on MSNBC on March 16 about this disease and a woman who got it from a tick bite while on a raspberry-picking venture with her children. The incidence of this malaria-like parasitic disease has skyrocketed in the last few years and is now of great concern to doctors and epidemiologists.

So, what’s a gardener or nature lover to do?

It’s actually pretty simple. It involves about 15 minutes of reading so you know about deer ticks and how they live and interact with us, our pets, deer, mice and the rest of our natural world. Don’t let a fear of ticks keep you away from any place or any activity, especially gardening, but do take the reasonable precautions.

One recommendation is to wear light-colored clothing so you can see them if they get on your clothes. But if you don’t know how small they are and what they look like, that can be a challenge. Take a look at the American Lyme Disease Foundation website at aldf.com and click on the left side where it says “What is Lyme Disease” for a tick primer.

Having read that, go out and buy an insect repellent that contains 20 to 30 percent deet. Apply it to your clothes (not your skin) including socks, pants and sleeves, but very, very sparingly. This is the one product that gives remarkable protection against deer ticks getting on you and your clothes.

Yes, there are those who claim that deet isn’t safe. I believe very strongly otherwise. And every time I go outdoors where there’s the threat of ticks, I apply it to my clothes.

I use Off! Deep Woods, which contains 25 percent deet or Ben’s 100 Tick & Insect Repellent, which is 100 percent deet and lasts much longer. I’ve removed only one tick from myself in more than 10 years. It was, naturally, on a day I’d forgotten to use deet.

Reading up on ticks and taking the precautions to make sure you don’t get bitten and sick is really important. I know far too many people, including gardeners, who have gotten sick. It’s so easy to avoid getting sick while still being able to garden and enjoy our outdoors. Read, learn and take the time to protect yourself now so you don’t have to suffer the side effects later.

Next week, a counterintuitive way to transplant trees. Keep growing.