Nevada Articles: BACK
Outdoors: Ticks may do some good, but it's hard to find
Reno Gazette-JournalCarson Times, NV
October 17, 2008The mere thought of a tick crawling up my bare leg on his way to a meal of my blood in some remote and unprotected part of my body gives me the creeps. Then it makes me start to itch and scratch, just like when I typed the previous sentence.
Really, it's that bad. I hate ticks. I have had them on my clothing many times while out and about in Nevada and California. And on a couple of occasions, even had one implant his mouth parts into my flesh. A horrid experience.
Recently, I heard of the synthetic chemical permethrin, used as an insecticide and insect repellant. Writer Ray Sasser of the Dallas Morning News suggests the use of this chemical by early-season hunters to ward off ticks. Two of the brand names that list permethrin as the active ingredient he mentioned were Permaone and Sawer.
I did a little research on permethrine and found this extremely interesting: "Permethrin kills ticks on contact with treated clothing."
Although this sentence would cause an English teacher to rise in disgust, it got my attention. Spray your clothes and watch the little blood sucking insects drop dead on contact. Good riddance.
I would guess most Nevadans have never come across a tick in the state, much less had one become implanted. But those of us who have, will never forget it.
Among hunters, it isn't hard to find someone with tick credentials. As pointed out in his column, Sasser says most hunters do not personally know anyone who has been bitten by a snake, but anyone who has spent time in the outdoors has been bitten by a tick.
The one thing I remember from my biological studies at UNR is that there is a reason for all living things, even those animals we might find a bit bothersome or even revolting. Bats help control insect populations, mosquitoes pollinate plants and leeches make great natural fish food.
But what about ticks? I couldn't come up with anything remotely good about the little blood suckers.
So I sought professional help and talked with Jeff Knight, the state's entomologist at the Nevada Department of Agriculture in Reno. I posed the question and he laughed.
"That's a good question," he said, while searching for an answer. "Well, they do transmit some diseases to animals and this may help to control population levels like on jack rabbits. That may be a controlling factor there. As far as immediately what benefit they may be to the environment, I cannot think of any, but I do know that it all is part of the natural system...I guess."
Then I got serious with my questions.
He said that there are 27 known species of ticks in Nevada, both hard and soft body types. Two of interest are the Pacific deer tick and the Rocky Mountain wood tick. The former, which can carry and transmit Lyme Disease, is found in Southern Nevada, but only incidentally in the north, probably brought in by hunting and other dogs that had been in California.
The Rocky Mt. wood tick, found on deer, is much more common in most of Nevada. It is the species that carries Rocky Mt. spotted fever, which like Lyme disease is considered rare in Nevada. Deer in Nevada also might carry other types of ticks including soft bodied types, Knight said. There are other species like the soft bodied spineless (a fitting name for a tick) ear tick that can transmit dangerous diseases to livestock.
Knight said the worst time of year for picking up a tick or two is in the spring, when air temperatures rise and those without a home crawl up on bushes and wait for some warm-blooded animal to happen by. Imagine a tick on the end of a branch of a sagebrush, waving his "feelers" and first pair of legs around just hoping to hitch a ride and a meal.
Potentially more serious than the chance of contracting a disease from ticks is the possibility of infections from the dirty critters. Before feeding on one of us warm blooded animals, a tick must chew his way into our flesh. There it holds on with hooked mouth parts that curve backwards, much like the barb on a fish hook, so getting them out and off after they have been feeding is difficult.
If one becomes implanted, Knight suggests carefully grabbing onto it with a forceps or tweezer, then slowly and gently pulling it out. He said not to jerk it out quickly or the head will probably break off and remain under the skin, usually causing an infection. He advised that the gentle pressure method might take at least five minutes to free the animal intact. If it has been implanted for some time and there is considerable swelling around the site, the assistance of a physician likely will be necessary.
Experienced hunters and hikers know the best way to protect against having a tick become implanted is to conduct a thorough visual inspection of their bodies if they suspect they have come in contact with a tick.
For me? I am going to buy a spray can of insect repellent with permethrin, spray my clothes well and hope I kill a lot of ticks. There might be some good that they do, but it can't offset the queasy feeling I get just thinking about one crawling on me.
© 2006 The National Lyme Disease Memorial Park Project
