Because of the extra-mild winter this year, the early spring could bring
an unwelcome guest: the tick. Be warned: The warmer weather is good
news for people and pets who want to be outside, but beware of an uptick
of the hard-to-detect pest.
The basic reason is that the eggs will hatch sooner. "Eggs are
already in the ground, but this is the time that they will be coming
out in great numbers," said Pollie Rueda, an entomologist stationed at
the Smithsonian and
Walter Reed Army institute of Research. He noted that the normal tick
season is from May through August, but with the 70-degree temperatures
in some places, the ticks may get a jump on the season.
Ticks that are already out and about are the visible adult,
sesame-sized ones, noted Kristen Nordlund of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Think of these little buggers as the arachnid form of vampires. They
hang out in blades of grass for a host to come along -- a mouse, a dog,
or a human -- to attach themselves and feed off your blood over days,
or until discovered, and they often leave disease behind -- sometimes
multiple illnesses.
The big concern for humans, according to the CDC,
is that most tick infections occur during the "nymph" stage. Those
recently hatched ticks are the size of the period at the end of this
sentence, and they have four sets of legs and the ability to suck your
blood. Because they are essentially invisible, preying on a host can
easily go undetected.
In most cases, the tick must be attached for 36-48 hours or more
before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted. Infections from
ticks, such as Lyme disease (plus babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted
fever, and anaplasmosisis), are on the rise and are difficult to
diagnose. The symptoms are awful: from headaches to long-term joint
pain and even heart problems.
Since 1992, the cases of Lyme disease have doubled, according to the CDC, and more than 21,000 cases are reported every year.
The CDC is conducting tests on actual households to confirm if spraying a pesticide in the backyard helps to reduce the incidence of human disease.