View Full Version : Heads up about ticks in Maine
PD230SOI
08-13-2014, 06:35
Having lived in Maine off and on since the late 1960s I have never known such a tick season.
both my son and I are on antibiotics right now. In each case we caught it early so all should be well.
the Doc said they have never seen these numbers before: could be better awareness or a true "uptick" in the tick population.
so, consider yourself warned once again...
Kerosene
08-13-2014, 17:00
Where in Maine are you located? In the Fall of 2012 I didn't encounter a single tick between Pinkham Notch and Rangeley. I will be covering the Rangeley to Katahdin section in late September.
Pedaling Fool
08-13-2014, 17:20
Nooooo.....not after a record cold winter....say it ain't so...:D
And there's a different disease than lyme out there called anaplasmosis.
https://bangordailynews.com/2014/08/12/health/maine-records-spike-in-diseases-carried-by-ticks-not-just-lyme/
PD230SOI
08-13-2014, 20:35
I am in freeport, but we have been up and down the mid coast. My son has Lyme, but the doc thinks I have one of the others. We will be fine, it's sort like a moderate flu for me. He (6 years old) had a 104.6 temp one morning.
as a possibly related comment, a forester I was working with said he has seen an explosion in the deer population along the coast. I would assume the two could be linked.
Slo-go'en
08-13-2014, 20:43
The incidence of Lyme is concentrated primarily along the coast and the suburbs. The mountains are still relatively safe.
Wise Old Owl
08-13-2014, 20:57
At the company we were geared for a slower Pest Management year, in fact we are having far more calls for fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, unfortunately the economy and spending are a huge factor as many I visit are out of work living on savings.
Here in Manchester Center, VT this year we have yet to see a single SOBO hiker with Lyme Disease at Green Mountain House.
Sorry about your son PD230SOI. Hope he gets well soon. As a father of four myself, I'd be anxious in your shoes. I also know that while I would feel bad, their mother would shoot me.
Still, your best defense is Permethrin treatments of all your clothes, sleeping bag (inside and out), pack, gators, raingear, etc. I generally use 2 of the large Sawyer 24 oz spray containers to treat all my gear when I go out for a long section. Make sure you can let it dry before using your clothes.
This year I got one of those tiny buggers embedded in me in the one place I forgot to treat. If you are using hiking sticks with straps, be sure to soak the straps. I didn't even think about that and one night I found a tiny deer tick embedded in the soft tissue between my thumb and index finger. With your arms out holding the sticks you are often brushing against tall weeds and bushes where ticks wait for there victims.
The one I picked up was in Northern NH or Southern Maine.