"These invasive ticks can appear in such numbers that they drain cattle of their blood — and they've now been found in the US for the first time" Business Insider
Makes me want to throw up.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Sammi,
Thanks so much for posting this. I'm sure I never would have seen it otherwise. It's so important.
While, indeed, the "ick" factor hits the roof on this one, thanks so much for this article. We do need to know it.
I could not read the wide article at the msn site, yet, so glad they provided the source link. I found the source link easier to read so for those with eyes that spasm - or if you want to send to others -- for, truly, this is important.
I say learn all we can now. Of course, these ticks are not going to stay right there. They aren't just there now, I'll bet.
My guess is that birds transport the ticks to new lands - or to new neighborhoods & states, too. As long as birds fly, ticks don't have to book through Delta.
As to the question whether freezing temps in NJ will kill them over this past winter, from other reading I know that many ticks in the U.S. can survive at least down to -17 below F.
And, if they are attached to a warm blooded animal with a literal sheep wool or other animal fur coat no less - a cold winter is not going to affect them, I'd guess. Even tucked under a bird's feathers & down, they will find a cozy winter hide-out.
We report the discovery of large numbers of Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann (Ixodida: Ixodidae) infesting a sheep in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States.
All life stages were found on the sheep, which had no history of travel outside the country. H. longicornis is native to East Asia, and there are invasive populations in Australia, New Zealand and several Pacific islands, where this tick is a major livestock pest.
It is currently unknown whether the New Jersey collections represent a limited or established population, but because this species could present a significant threat to human and animal health in the United States, vigilance is encouraged.
[Full journal article at link above] -
[ 03-09-2018, 04:39 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
My nausea was from the fact that we now have another huge problem to overcome.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Yeah, that's a major load to tack on. Good point.
I must admit the photos really can sink my stomach. Still, my old Girl Scout training kicks in to try to figure out how to prevent something from getting worse.
Some people do cross word puzzles. I find enough puzzles just in the few things that I stumble upon while trying to just be up on the news around the world.
But I'd already just read this morning of a new ebola-like infection in Africa.
I have not had the courage to yet read the full article but it's really important to learn about that, too, regarding the shift from animal to humans. I wonder if cooking plants that may have been bitten by infected animals will kill it. So many questions. -
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- First article more for perspective. Second one is much more serious study time.
Really, no need to panic yet some really interesting detail here about what's all around us - perspective matters:
Why Lassa, an Ebola-like fever, has exploded in Nigeria
Blame rats and climate change?
By Julia Belluz - VOX - Mar 9, 2018
Excerpts:
. . . There were more than 700 suspected cases in 2017, and more than 900 in 2016 — up from 430 in 2015.
So what’s going on here? . . .
. . . “Warmer weather will produce more food in the fields for a longer period of time,” Robert Garry, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, said.
“Each litter of rodents will have more survivors. Rodents also like it hot — that’s why they produce nests and huddle. So the rodents will spread north to areas that now have a more suitable climate.”
Rodents also tend to breed more in warmer weather, so even a mildly warmer climate can help produce more rats. . . .
. . . Researchers have linked heavier rainfalls with a higher risk of Lassa fever outbreaks. “We don’t know why,” said Lina Moses, a clinical assistant professor who studies Lassa with Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, “but something about rainfall either increases crop production or impacts the population of the rodents.”
So climate change, the more extreme weather it brings, and shifts in the ecology of rodents may be expanding their territory and promoting breeding.
“The more rodents, the more Lassa being transmitted between rodents, and the more people infected with Lassa,” Moses said.
(And it’s not just Lassa — researchers believe bird flu, cholera, Lyme, and many other diseases are being made worse by global warming.) . . . . -
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
I'm sure they are waiting and hoping that the NJ winter killed off these monsters.
Something tells me.....they will survive.
OM!
Pam
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Nothing kills ticks off.
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lymetoo: Nothing kills ticks off.
Except being in a dryer on hot for an hour---or at least so we're told.
But more and more it comes to what you're saying.
I had already seen articles about this in NJ. It's utterly horrifying. I felt like we're $#%*ed!! This is why an ex-Ms nature girl is now glad I live in a city, and don't want to go to the country/suburbs much.
My last known tick bite, we only went to visit friends in NJ for 24 hours. in that time I got 2 ticks on me, one embeded tick in my hair at the base of the skull, only discovered late at night, long after being outside. I was on treatment but got horribly worse, in spite of adding doxy.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Rumi’s right.
Ticks don’t die in the winter from cold. Even in the harshest of cold climates they easily find shelter to keep warm & hydrated (example: shrubbery).
I’ve been told by numerous sources that ticks will only die if absolutely starved or exposed to hot & dry conditions (such as being stranded in the middle of a mown lawn that has been scorched dry by the intense summer sun).
Heat doesn’t directly kill ticks, they thrive in heat if able to find protection from sun & any moisture like from underneath plants & shaded ground.
Ticks only die when they loose all moisture. Soft body ticks will die sooner than hard body ticks.
Posted by BobG (Member # 39642) on :
The perfect biowarfare weapon. No wonder former Nazi's were studying them on Plum Island, a bird's flight from Lyme CT.
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
quote:Originally posted by BobG: The perfect biowarfare weapon. No wonder former Nazi's were studying them on Plum Island, a bird's flight from Lyme CT.
Yup. I got my Lyme & co 1 1/2 miles from Plum Island at Montauk. Spent @ a month there every year from when I was a toddler. I got uncountable known tick bites every year, even as an adult (not every year as adult).
Posted by Brussels (Member # 13480) on :
National Geographic had reported that years ago. All those moose being sucked by ticks, to death.
it's still on going. It's not only a problem with cattle...
Posted by BobG (Member # 39642) on :
Never heard of the Moose issue. Glad I like boating. Has anyone seen swimming or flying ticks yet? A Steven King novel can't be far behind.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
There's a video somewhere on You Tube of a moose that died from tick infestation. You can go look, I'm NOT! Posted by Brussels (Member # 13480) on :
The images of ghost moose are AWFUL: thousands of ticks in ONE moose.
It seems the phenomena is not new at all, and when locals or rangers see these sort of weak animals barely able to walk, the only thing they can do is shoot the poor creatures.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)