Ghostbusters? No – Tickbusters!
Fall is the favourite season of many. With all the leaves beginning to change colour displaying endless shades of reds and yellows, it beckons to many people to explore the great outdoors before the inevitable snow comes. However, many people remain unaware of the threat that ticks can play in the health of both themselves and their pets this season. If you frequent wooded areas this fall, you may come across some unwanted hitchhikers that could potentially be carrying the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.
The black-legged deer tick, formally known as Ixodes scapularis, can harbour the bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, that can cause Lyme disease in both people and domestic animals. There has been an increase in news coverage about this disease in the past few years as climate change has resulted in an ever-increasing northward march of this bacteria in our ticks, and there are now established in several well-documents areas in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and British Columbia.
Ticks are a very common parasite in our woods, but unfortunately they are very easy to miss on ourselves, and especially our furry pets. Ticks lie in wait in the underbrush of forests and sit patiently until a human or animal walks by, and then they grab on and find a spot to attach and feed until fully engorged. Ticks are very small. The adult deer tick is only about the size of a large sesame seed, so finding them can be challenging! Thankfully, there are people like Dr. Katie Clow, a graduate student at the Ontario Veterinary College, who is working closely with the CWHC to survey over 150 sites across Ontario to determine the prevalence of both the deer tick, and how many of them are positive for the bacteria causing Lyme disease.
For more information about ticks and Lyme Disease, please click here.
This is part of a series of photo essays submitted by the wildlife rotation students at the Ontario Veterinary College and the Ontario/Nunavut region of the CWHC. You can find this and more on our Instagram!