Less acorns = more Lyme disease

[legalskier]

After Lean Acorn Crop in Northeast, Even People May Feel the Effects
*** Coming on the heels of an acorn glut, the dearth this year will probably have a cascade of effects on the forest ecosystem, culling the populations of squirrels, field mice and ground-nesting birds. And because the now-overgrown field mouse population will crash, legions of ticks — some infected with Lyme disease — will be aggressively pursuing new hosts, like humans.
“We expect 2012 to be the worst year for Lyme disease risk ever,” said Richard S. Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y. “We are already planning educational materials.”
It will probably turn into a big year for animals’ being killed on highways as well. Deer, in search of alternative sources of food, will leave the cover of the oak trees and wander out closer to roads.***
Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/n...including-humans.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general

Note to self: stock up on insect repellent.

 

[MommaBear]

Note to self: stock up on insect repellent.

That, and "stay out of the woods", was exactly what went thru my head...lol!

 

[playoutside]

Interesting...and a bit scary. Seems like there are plenty of ticks already. So far I've steered clear of Lyme, but have a cat who came to me from the woods in NJ and he had lyme (among other diseases). He lives inside now, but my other cat who lives in NJ thinks she is the great hunter...killing mice, chipmunks, large bugs daily. The thing we have started seeing is that the Frontline we treat her with for keeping the fleas and ticks away has stopped working. Vets are reporting that Frontline is no longer effective on the ticks. Doesn't bode well for people and pets who spend time outdoors.

 

[bigbog]

$.01-guess..but interesting article,
Cycles happen....anti-bodies grow....think one just needs to choose your level of "woods" [un]-affected by urban/suburban practices/pests/chemicals. Lot depends on temperatures and weather. News organizations love to jump on stories that are immediate.....nature possesses many variables.

 

[riverc0il]

Interesting...and a bit scary. Seems like there are plenty of ticks already. So far I've steered clear of Lyme, but have a cat who came to me from the woods in NJ and he had lyme (among other diseases). He lives inside now, but my other cat who lives in NJ thinks she is the great hunter...killing mice, chipmunks, large bugs daily. The thing we have started seeing is that the Frontline we treat her with for keeping the fleas and ticks away has stopped working. Vets are reporting that Frontline is no longer effective on the ticks. Doesn't bode well for people and pets who spend time outdoors.

I don't know if cat Frontline is different than dog Frontline, but Frontline for dogs doesn't stop ticks from biting the dog, it just kills em' once they bite in. Still not good for the dog, we check her thoroughly when coming in from the trail and we still seem to miss a few. When they are really bad, we'll find a few in the house every week that aren't even on her. Ick.

 

[LiquidFeet]

So why did we not get the usual plethora of acorns this year? My driveway is usually covered. I don't remember seeing any.

Is it because of the defoliating caterpillars this last spring? Or something else?

 

[playoutside]

I don't know if cat Frontline is different than dog Frontline, but Frontline for dogs doesn't stop ticks from biting the dog, it just kills em' once they bite in. Still not good for the dog, we check her thoroughly when coming in from the trail and we still seem to miss a few. When they are really bad, we'll find a few in the house every week that aren't even on her. Ick.

unfortunately what changed is that it no longer even kills the darn things. Instead of picking dead ticks from her neck, now we have daily checks to grab the live ones. Hopefully the frontline for dogs remains effective. Vets do have an alternate for cats in a prescription form.

 

[Nick]

Actually I have noticed waaaayyy less acorns year.... hmmmm

 

[bigbog]

So why did we not get the usual plethora of acorns this year? My driveway is usually covered. I don't remember seeing any.

Is it because of the defoliating caterpillars this last spring? Or something else?

Something....last Spring...early..I remember seeing quite a few yearling moose coming out from the deeper woods in certain areas...in a somewhat dazed manner, with some of their winter fur still on...shaking their heads, etc. ...and just read an article in local paper of the increased winter mortality of young moose and deer due to increased tick populations. One source, hunting/skinning store...placed some blame on the increased temperatures due to higher insulated areas through snow accumulation...without the usual drop in actual temperatures that usually kill off a percentage of tick larvae.

Link to Maine Wildlife Disease page:
http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/disease/index.htm

..With a search on tick yielding:
http://www.maine.gov/search?q=tick&button=Go&as_sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maine.gov%2Fifw&site=test_collection&output=xml_no_dtd&client=test_collection&proxystylesheet=test_collection

 

[darent]

winter moth egg laying caused a lot their caterpillars to defoliate the hardwoods thus hurting acorn production. also acorn production really varies around here from year to year. this island is covered with scrub oak and late spring cold snaps seem to affect acorn production. this warm weather really has the tick population going strong this late in the season.my dog is like a magnet for those critters, bet I pulled 20 off him after our juant through the swamp.