Another day of spider-hunting! » « The story that atheism will never live down

Uh-oh. Ticks.

It’s going to be another day delving deep into more spidery domains, and then I see this news about another threat, a new species of tick invading the US.

Testing in New York identified the tick as an Asian longhorned tick nymph, with genetic sequencing adding more evidence affirming the finding. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, further confirmed the finding.

Tick sampling using corduroy drag cloths found Asian longhorned ticks on the patient’s manicured lawn, some of them in direct sun. More were found in the park across the street from the patient’s house, both in open, cut grass exposed to direct sun and in taller, shaded grass next to the woods. Testing also found ticks on a nearby public trail, in mowed short and midlength grass near the trail edge, both in full sun and partial shade. The discovery of the ticks near the man’s house were the first known collections in New York state.

The authors wrote that finding the ticks on manicured lawns and in open sun may be significant, because public education efforts often stress that Ixodes scapularis ticks—the most common biting tick in New York state—are found in wooded areas or shaded grass.

At least my area of interest right now is dark, shadowy, dusty, cobwebby, and hot, so I’m not going to panic. My long-term plans include expanding into lawns and gardens, though, so I’ll keep this in mind for next year.

Another day of spider-hunting! » « The story that atheism will never live down

Comments

  1. Akira MacKenzie says

    Since the thaw, we’ve been fighting a losing battle against wood ticks. Every other day or so we find one of the little fuckers crawling on us, looking for a place to burrow in. They’re likely being brought in by our dog when he comes in from his dog walk. Fortunately, he got his anti-flea/tick shot earlier this spring so he’s protected. The humans in the household, not so much.

  5. blf says

    How do you display an image on this site?

    Please don’t! Some people have slow or data-limited connections, and/or limited memory / processor, and images (and videos) are not very friendly. I recommend posting a link plus the title and/or a short description / synopsis, e.g.:

    <a href="link">title</a>: optional synopsis.

    The reader can then decide whether or not to follow the link.

  6. azpaul3 says

    See that big tick at the top of the page?

    If someone has such an inadequate system that an in-message graphic is that much bother then they already have a major problem with every page on today’s internet. That is not how the internet has developed.

    But if that view is common in this community then I will comply.

  9. octopod says

    Real question: If we can give dogs flea and tick shots, why aren’t they available for humans?

  10. rrutis1 says

    @9, Of course the gubmt wants to inject us with dead tick parts to “vaccinate us” against tick bites. Everyone knows that the tick vaccination gives you delusions of grandeur and narcissistic(k) tendencies, and a desire to make money off the backs of others, you know, like a parasite! /s

    rich