UGH…..
Well, we found our first deer tick last Friday. I took Tara on a hike on and when we got back this was crawling up her leg. Luckily, all those wild turkeys I see gobble them up.
The cats always end up with lots of them, luckily they don’t get Lyme disease. I pick them off the cats almost daily in the spring/fall here. I guess it’s time for daily tick checks for the pets and for us, that’s the best way to find them early.
Do you have ticks in your garden?
Filed under Around the Garden, Insects, Pests | Comments (7)
Susy, with all the wild turkeys that roam the neighborhood where Terra Nova Gardens resides, I find very few bugs of any kind. I’ll be interested to see if that continues now that I have the area secured with a fence. I know the turkeys can fly and get inside the fence any time they want but will they. There’s plenty of land to bug forage without hopping a six foot fence. I’m hoping the bugs will not be a problem again this year.
May you have a find every tick on human or animal day.
to Nebraska Dave's comment
We live in a tick-heavy area of NY, and after a very mild winter there’s a very healthy deer population this year. While we don’t keep any backyard poultry, I make it a point to have a bird-friendly garden, since I’m sure that to many of them ticks are delicious ;-)
to JJ's comment
Not sure if it’s true, but I’ve read that turkeys also spread ticks… In any case, I have a healthy number of turkeys and more than healthy number of ticks!
to Joan's comment
I’ve actually heard that turkeys are great at eating ticks, which seems to make sense b/c they are like guineas. We shall see as there seem to be a ton of turkeys around this spring.
to Susy's comment
Yuck! Your post just reminded me to order some permethrin clothing spray for this year. We live in a heavily wooded lot in Virginia and I just know this year is going to be a bad tick year. I’m so paranoid about getting Lyme!
to Kathy's comment
March is one of the best months to find ticks on you or your animals. Even with a heavy snow cover like last year, they are looking for their next blood meal.
to Jennifer Fisk's comment
Ugh – your post reminded me to start checking our girls and our dogs – and ourselves! Hate those creepy crawlies.
to kirsten's comment