Lee, I agree, some of the coldest places in the midwest also have the highest tick populations. At one time, I recall seeing a map that showed the highest incidence of Lyme disease was actually northwest to central Wisconsin. The cold won't kill them underneath a blanket of snow. The only effective nonchemical method of tick reduction that I am aware of is burning of grasslands and prairies in spring.
Paul On Fri, Jan 8, 2010 at 7:54 AM, Lee Frelich <[email protected]> wrote: > Beth: > > Unfortunately, the cold is not likely to kill the deer ticks. We had a > much colder spell last winter than this winters cold spell, and I still got > Lyme Disease last year. The black legged tick might be affected by cold > weather, but not deer ticks and wood ticks, which are present in the area > around Cook, MN, where it was down to -45 last winter. The black legged tick > just recently moved into MN, and might be facilitated by our mild winters in > recent years. > > Lee > > > Beth wrote: > >> Ents, >> Wednesday night/Thursday day we here in St. Louis got between 3-6 >> inches of snow. While this is not much the problem was the cold front >> that came with it. High temps for yesterday were in the teens and >> today and tomorrow the highs are to be in the single temps. Of course >> the wind chills have been -10 and below. This is heading towards the >> Northeast today. I hope that everyone there dresses warmly and in >> layers if they have to get outside. >> >> I hope that this bitter cold (yes I know Lee, this isn't cold for you) >> kills off some of the ticks around here. I am tired of pulling them >> off of me along with getting Lyme. >> >> Beth >> >> >
