While we were able to enjoy some warm weather this past week, spending time outside also brought more risk of coming into contact with ticks and mosquitoes. PJ Liesch, state entomologist, says last year’s tick and mosquito populations were a bit more subdued but when it comes to determining what we’ll be seeing this year, it all comes down to weather.
“It’s been really interesting with our weather this last week or so with those temperatures in many areas up into the 60, 70s, or even 80s,” says Liesch. “That meant a lot of folks were maybe out in the woods, hitting the trails, doing some hiking or doing other outdoor activities and that did lead to the possibility of tick counters.”
Even though we can’t quite prodict the rest of the year until we see what the weather will do, ticks are active and Liesch says with the medical concerns associated with these creatures, it’s always something that folks should be aware of and should have on their radar to make sure they’re taking appropriate precautions.
Additionally, mosquitoes have been reported active, especially in the southern half of the state. Wisconsin is actually home to about 55 different species of mosquitoes and some species overwinter in insulated areas of rocks or houses. Once the warmer weather picks up like we recently had, those mosquitoes become active.
“What we really need to stay in tune for though, is what is going to happen with the rest of the season and that can be influenced a lot by weather patterns,” explains Liesch. “What I’m going to be watching in particular is going to be the weather over the next month or two because the rainfall that we get in spring is really going to be kind of the big overall driver of mosquito pressure here in the state for the year.”
If we have relatively dry conditions that should keep the mosquito population lower, which is what we’ve seen in many parts of Wisconsin the last year with some of the drought conditions. But if we have a rainy spring and early summer, that’s going to set the stage for a much higher mosquito population as the growing season goes on.
One of the most important things about these insects being active again, is being aware of the diseases they carry, especially ticks. Liesch encourages people to search photos of ticks and become familiar with the different sizes and kinds as they can be hard to find.
Other precautions that can be taken is to look for areas where there is a lot of tick and mosquito activity in your yard. You can manage the vegetation in your woods to prevent ticks, and remove any standing water in your yard to decrease the chances of mosquitoes breeding in those spots.
Additionally, wearing long sleeve clothing when heading out hiking or into the woods helps to create a barrier between you and these insects. Liesch encourages people to use good repellents that contain oil of lemon eucalyptus. He does caution using remedies for “DIY” repellents you can find online and says to stick with one that is an EPA registered repellent.
“It is important to check for ticks at the end of the day as with deer ticks and Lyme disease, that tick has to be attached to you for about 24 to 36 hours or longer for it to effectively transmit Lyme disease,” says Liesch. “So if you go out in the woods and come back a couple hours later and you find a tick on you, removing it within a few hours greatly decreases the chances of transmission of something such as Lymes and other diseases as well.”
It’s also important to check your pets and livestock for ticks as well.
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