Lyme Disease and Deer Ticks in Connecticut

STAMFORD, Conn. - Sept. 2, 2015 - PRLog -- The bacterium was named for him: Borrelia burgdorferi and the disease was named after the unfortunate town in which it was first discovered.

Lyme has become a major disease in the US with 30,000 cases reported annually. Because of so much uncertainty regarding symptoms and diagnosis the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate reported cases represent as little as one tenth of the actual number of occurrences. The vast majority of reported cases are concentrated in the Northeast and to the consternation of homeowners 75% of those cases are contracted in residential back yards. The incidence of Lyme disease has been growing steadily. Suburban development, growing deer populations and even climate change are theories for why.

Ticks are disease vectors. This means they feed on a host that is a disease reservoir then transmit the disease to their next host. If you are bitten by a Blacklegged Deer Tick, Ixodes scapularis (which, in the Northeast, is the only way you can contract Lyme) the first thing to do is to remove the tick. This will require precision tweezers so that you can grab the tick at the head and pull directly up and away. Squeezing the tick’s body or twisting can potentially propel the bacterium through the tick. If you are not confident about proper removal it is best to see a doctor. According to most estimates, it takes 36-48 hours after a bite for disease transmission to take place. You can have the tick tested for Lyme (not all carry the disease) and you can be tested. This is where things begin to become controversial.

Lyme has potentially devastating health effects so it is critical to be tested if you belief transmission from a tick has taken place or experience any symptoms associated with Lyme. Unfortunately, testing is not always accurate and disease symptoms vary widely. If you are tested before the organism has reached detectable populations tests will show up negative. The bacterial spirochete is a corkscrew like microbe that rapidly exits the blood system, avoiding antibody defense mechanisms. It can therefore become well established before showing up on blood tests. Additionally, there are at least four other pathogens that can be transmitted by the ticks (anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus and a genetic relative of Lyme are the others). In most reported cases conventional testing and treatment take care of the disease yet up to 20% of these patients suffer from what is call by some Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome or by others as Chronic Lyme. Neither diagnosis is recognized by the medical insurance industry nor are Lyme like symptoms that are not confirmed by a blood test. Those are reasons why, if you Google “Lyme disease”, you will find innumerable forums and organizations devoted to a better understanding of the disease and many individuals who are not happy with conventional thinking. For the record, I contracted Lyme in the late 80’s and three years after treatment suffered what was, without doubt, a re-occurrence (thankfully tests were positive). We are referring to the most adaptable organisms on the earth; precisely how these bacteria vary and interact with us or each other is well beyond current knowledge.

To state the obvious the best idea is to avoid ticks. This can be done on the home front by amending the landscape around your home to reduce tick habitat; use flagstone or gravel pathways to create tick barriers, add open sunny areas (ticks need moist environments to survive) and prevent or discourage deer from entering (deer are not disease reservoirs but they are the host for around 90% of adult Ixodes scapularis final meal and where most deer ticks mate). Be vigilant about checking for ticks following outdoor activities and be aware of the clear and present danger zones. A study done on a backcountry landscape in Connecticut found ticks in the following breakdown:

67% (of total sampled) in densely wooded areas 22% in the Ecotone (the lawn/woodland transition zone) 9% in ornamental vegetation (e.g. pachysandra) 2% on the lawn (nearly all of that 2% within 3 yards of the perimeter).

In other words, stay on the grass.

An effective control approach is the use of perimeter and habitat sprays timed to kill ticks at each of their three life stages. These treatments are most effective when done with high pressure sprayers. Home owners should be wary of mosquito control services using backpack sprayers claiming to provide a protective barrier for ticks as well. Backpack devices, which are effective against open air inhabiting Mosquitos, do not provide the volume or coverage to penetrate understory growth and leaf litter where nymph and larval stage ticks live.  A service that targets ticks with high pressure sprayers will provide the additional benefit of relief from mosquitos and, more importantly, will give you far greater protection against Lyme disease carrying ticks.

For those adverse to the overuse of pesticides the good news is that the essential oils of Cedar trees have been found to be very effective against Arthropods (of which ticks are members). Cedar Oil provides multiple modes of action (it attacks the nervous system and dehydrates the exoskeleton) and it acts as an aroma repellent long after the initial application.

There are numerous resources for obtaining additional information about Lyme disease and deer ticks. The CDC and American Lyme Disease Foundation are especially informative.

Please visit http://green-angel.com/organic-tick-control-for-lawn-ct/ for more information.