DEER TICK ALERT

Deer have been spotted in the backyards of Morrow Road, Thornton Road and Highview Road. “Reducing the deer tick population on property surrounding your home is your best defense against tick-borne diseases”.

· Ticks don’t fly, jump or drop from above. They prefer damp areas and lurk in tall grass, leaf piles, brush, wooded areas and stone walls. The following is recommended to make one’s property inhospitable to ticks:

· Remove leaf litter and piles of brush, especially around stone walls, where ticks lie in wait.

· Cut grass and weeds as low as possible and keep them cut to dry them out.

· Thin branches of bushes and trees to let in light and improve air circulation, thereby reducing dampness.

· Create a barrier between the woods and the high-use parts of your yard. A three-foot wide layer of wood chips or gravel will do the trick. Ticks don’t like to cross a dry, open area.

· Ticks feed on the blood from deer and mice. By reducing the number of these animals on private property, one can cut down the number of ticks. If practical, minimize or eliminate the vegetarian deer prefer to feed on. An arborist can advise one on the plants deer do and don’t like to eat. Consider treating plants with sprays deer don’t like the taste of and/or installing tall fencing to keep them out.

· Don’t put bird feeders in high-traffic areas of your property. Spilled seed can draw mice.

· Move wood piles, a favorite nesting place for mice and hiding place for ticks, away from your house.

If a tick-reduction job is extensive or if the property is densely populated with ticks, consider calling a professional arborist for an evaluation and recommendations.

Tick-borne diseases are certainly unpleasant and Lyme disease can be serious. The tick population this year is expected to be high. But by taking preventive measures on your property, one can greatly reduce the likelihood of tick bite and its possible consequences.

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