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URI entomologist predicts early tick season, high infection rate

A University of Rhode Island tick expert believes that several ecological

factors are likely to make 2008 a big year for ticks and disease, so he advises

Rhode Islanders to develop an action plan for taking appropriate precautions to

reduce their chances of being bitten.

Mather, professor of entomology and director of URI’s Center for

Vector-Borne Disease, said that among other things, a large acorn crop in 2006

may have led to an “exceptionally high” rodent population in Rhode Island last

year.

“Since mice serve as carriers of the Lyme disease pathogen, immature deer ticks

last year had lots of potentially infected blood meals,” said Mather, who has

been monitoring deer tick populations in the state since 1992. “These factors

lead me to believe that the poppy-seed sized nymphal ticks are likely to be more

abundant this year and a higher percentage of them will be infected. The result

is that people will be more likely to encounter ticks that can transmit Lyme and

other diseases.”

While the adult deer ticks have been active for quite some time already, Mather

said it is the nymphal stage ticks that primarily transmit Lyme disease to

humans, and they are not typically active until late May and June. But this year

he expects the tiny nymphs to be a concern by mid-May, which is a week or two

early.

“Of course, the weather could have an impact on how bad the tick season is. If

we have a very dry May and June, my predictions get tossed out the window,”

Mather said. “But as we start the season, my concern is that the infection rate

will be high and the nymphal ticks will be active a little early.” Nymphal deer

ticks thrive in shady cover with high humidity.

Therefore, Mather said Rhode Islanders should be especially vigilant against

ticks this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have established

a national goal of reducing the rate of Lyme disease to 9.7 cases per 100,000

people by the year 2010. In Rhode Island estimates of the current rate are

between 30 and 60 cases per 100,000 people, while that rate is more than 10

times higher in southern and central Rhode Island.

- checking thoroughly every day for ticks;

- using a pointy tick removal tweezer to safely remove attached ticks;

- treating clothing with a repellent containing Permethrin and wearing the

treated clothing whenever going in areas where ticks may lurk;

- keeping the edge of the yard clear of leaf litter because that’s where

people’s exposure to ticks is most likely to occur; and

- hiring a trained professional pest controller or arborist to apply an

appropriate tick treatment around the yard.

Adult deer ticks must be attached for 48 hours to transmit the Lyme disease

pathogen, while nymphs, which are tiny and difficult to see, need only be

attached for 24 hours to begin transmitting a Lyme infection.

More information on tick control is available at URI’s Tick Encounter Resource

Center’s website, http://www.tickencounter.org .