posted
Hi all, I'm a professional organic landscaper with Lyme. Here's some news you may not know. Japanese Barberry is a MAJOR Lyme tick habitat. If any of you have this popular shrub on your property PLEASE REMOVE IT ASAP! It is also invasive, so you will be helping yourself and the environment!
Heres a link to the UCONN article anout barberry & Lyme
posted
thanks!
Posts: 631 | From the south | Registered: Nov 2008
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- An important point for many shrubs, especially near dwellings.
It's really sad to hear that this particular habitat is so inviting to ticks (and an danger to invite them, of course).
Because, as an a herbal supplement, Barberry has excellent internal properties and I've been my very best when taking it, likely due to its high Berberine content, although it also has other nutrients going for it.
Now, if we could only get the ticks to EAT it, eh? A sad irony.
I don't know if ticks eat ANY plants yet it is definitely something to explore. IF, by chance, they do and they might Barberry, this may not be as bad as we might think. Might not . . . just thinking out loud.
It seems that one way to stop disease in ticks is to get something INTO them to change their internal "atmosphere" - I don't have the time to research this but I wonder what those who study herbs and herbs relative to lyme might say about any potential project where we encourage CERTAIN plants that might help in this battle.
Again, I don't even know if ticks eat plants or if they would be attracted to plants with medicinal properties but it's a question I'd ask before removing Barberry. Just wondering if the ticks that might be able to ingest Barberry would be affected?
That's a question worth looking at for the long haul. How can we "TREAT THE TICK" itself, with nature?
Still, I'd never want any greenery right up against my home unless I knew for sure that it might be a "crime fighter" so to speak.
I truly think this could be the next frontier of medicine IF we'd only keep our minds open about using nature to heal, from the start, at the ticks' mouths, if there is any way to do that. -
[ 03-26-2013, 01:36 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Not at all disputing the need to clear away from dwellings and recreation areas anything that attracts ticks.
Still for those who may want to know the benefits of one componet of Barbery internally:
posted
Lisa, I just learned this today from another source. I was poking around on Lymedisease.org website looking for educational materials. There was a link on there for more documentary videos much like UOS.
the black box with the play arrow is very informative, including mentioning the barberry bushes. Mouse over the Playlist bar on the right of the box and it will reveal 3 videos.
kw
-------------------- KentuckyWoman tired of medical run-arounds
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. ~ ~ Robert Frost Posts: 221 | From Kentucky | Registered: Sep 2012
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quote:Originally posted by Keebler: - An important point for many shrubs, especially near dwellings.
It's really sad to hear that this particular habitat is so inviting to ticks (and an danger to invite them, of course).
Because, as an a herbal supplement, Barberry has excellent internal properties and I've been my very best when taking it, likely due to its high Berberine content, although it also has other nutrients going for it.
Now, if we could only get the ticks to EAT it, eh? A sad irony.
I don't know if ticks eat ANY plants yet it is definitely something to explore. IF, by chance, they do and they might Barberry, this may not be as bad as we might think. Might not . . . just thinking out loud.
It seems that one way to stop disease in ticks is to get something INTO them to change their internal "atmosphere" - I don't have the time to research this but I wonder what those who study herbs and herbs relative to lyme might say about any potential project where we encourage CERTAIN plants that might help in this battle.
Again, I don't even know if ticks eat plants or if they would be attracted to plants with medicinal properties but it's a question I'd ask before removing Barberry. Just wondering if the ticks that might be able to ingest Barberry would be affected?
That's a question worth looking at for the long haul. How can we "TREAT THE TICK" itself, with nature?
Still, I'd never want any greenery right up against my home unless I knew for sure that it might be a "crime fighter" so to speak.
I truly think this could be the next frontier of medicine IF we'd only keep our minds open about using nature to heal, from the start, at the ticks' mouths, if there is any way to do that. -
FYI ticks only eat blood, not plants.
They like the barberry because of the habitat it creates is attractive to mice and deer avoid it so this shrub is important for the tick life cycle between it's larval and adult form.
-------------------- Take It Easy, Peace Posts: 59 | From Old Lyme | Registered: Aug 2011
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Lisa,
Oh, I sort of thought that may be the case. I just had not looked into that but am not surprised to hear it.
Thanks so much for the clarification. Not inviting them to live in shrubs near our dwelling helps but, still, I sure wish we could find some ways to stop borrelia - and ticks - at the start. Birth control for ticks? A tricky task, no doubt.
It's also interested to hear WHY ticks like barberry brambles -- I wondered why barberry mores o than other less dense bushes. Makes sense that it serves as their supermarket for critters to come right to them. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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beaches
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posted
Thanks for this info Lisa. I think I have two of these plants, but not 100% sure-will have to ask an expert to check them out. If they are the Japanese Barberry they're coming out!
Posts: 1885 | From here | Registered: Jul 2012
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posted
It is actually several factors that make Barberry so dangerous. First, leaves tend to accumulate under the shrub and hold moisture essential for tick larvae survival.
Second, mice can live under the shrub safely, predators can't get past the thorns. Mice are hosts for tick nymph stage. As the ticks age and grow they seek a new larger host the nearby deer, pet or human.
Deer don't eat Barberry, but eat other plants that enjoy the same habitat, so deer are nearby.
Also, Barberry is easily spread throughout the wilderness by animals who eat the seeds and deposit them all around. The Barberry competes with native plants for nutrients and Barberries win.
Land with Barberries on it have exponentially more Lyme carrying ticks, than land without Barberries. So please get rid of them SOON!
Lisa
-------------------- Take It Easy, Peace Posts: 59 | From Old Lyme | Registered: Aug 2011
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Lisa,
Thanks so much for the detailed explanation. It really helps to know all that - and also how that can apply to other plants, too.
It's just too bad that the properties of the plant INSIDE are so good but that the actual habitat, itself, can be so problematic. Such a cruel twist of irony, it seems.
Make no mistake about it, though, I fully agree that the habitat must not be allowed - just thinking out loud as, as a supplement, this has been so fantastic for me.
All this helps me better understand HOW certain herbs must be separated, in controlled places and tended by herbalists who know what they are doing. Not all can be "wildcrafted"
I've had similar thoughts about Japanese Knotweed, invasive in the south. It's a fabulous herbal supplement but can also pose risk for various reasons when it just grows where ever it wants.
I never gave a whole lot of thought to the complexities of all this before. Good to learn more. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
Yes - we totally revamped the areas of our property where people go. We removed all plantings that are havens for ticks.
This not only includes barberry bushes, but also groundcover like pachysandra and english ivy that provide havens for rodents that also carry ticks (it's not just deer!).
On the lawn, we set up good practices of having a barrier between the lawn and the fence made up of mulch. Having a barrier also makes it harder (but not impossible) for ticks to cross from "wild" areas to landscaped areas.
Also, when I am walking my dogs, I do not let them walk or sniff in any leaf litter areas, which also are notorious for harboring ticks.
Great information at the Connecticut Agricultural Experimentation Station...
posted
This may sound a bit weird, but when I read LisaLyme's comment above that ticks only eat blood, my mind immediately jumped to...well?
Am I correct in my understanding that ticks feed on blood once and then go on to their next stage? This idea will only work if that is true.
Would there be a way to attract ticks to a nonliving source of blood, such that they then wouldn't bite living animals?
So, to provide them with a source of blood in one area of the property? Like a pan of meat drippings, or similar? Then that area would attract ticks and other areas could be more tickfree?
Is this nuts or not?!
Posts: 13155 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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posted
I believe ticks are attracted to warm blooded hosts of appropriate size, so I think they need a living being to bite.
I read an article about deer bait stations which applies tickicide to the deer while they eat, but it seems to work only in enclosed habits so the deer can't roam in & out.
So people are working on this problem, we are waiting for the answer!
-------------------- Take It Easy, Peace Posts: 59 | From Old Lyme | Registered: Aug 2011
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