Lyme Map Bangor Daily News (Eastport: house, school, campers)

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by BrokenTap

Interesting read...

I will say though that many of you would have a different opinion of a few of these points if you actually got Lyme Disease. For me anyway, these last few weeks have been brutal. It is hard enough to get up at 3 AM and go to work and crawl around inside a ship all day, then come home from work and work with the sheep until 7 PM, all that without pain. Adding in severe pain just makes it almost unbearable at times. I realize I am whining here, but man it really sucks guys....


I also realize for many of you, contracting Lyme is a result of a leisurely walk in the woods, but for a few of us being in the woods and fields is part of our work load, for instance I got it when opening up a hay bale for my sheep. I remember the bite, but because of a lack of health insurance, it went undiagnosed for months. Two trips to the Emergency Room caused the disease to go undetected because most of the tell-tale symptoms like bulls-eye rash and stuff was long gone. In the end I know first hand how reluctant Dr's are at prescribing antibiotics now; in particular from the Thayer Hospital in Waterville.

As for the extinction of deer, we no longer allow deer hunting on our farm; partly to do with the disgusting behavior of hunters, but also because of the deer themselves. If coyotes (which we do allow to be hunted profusely) are dining on venison, they won't be snacking on lamb nearly as much. So yes I am still very glad there is a bounty on coyotes and not deer.

Sorry about the whining, I am just trying to give people a different perspective on Lyme Disease...

I'm sorry that you are suffering from Lyme Disease. I'm sure the pain is no fun as I'm subject to widespread chronic neurological/musculoskeletal pain myself, but for a different reason.

Still, the will to enjoy going outdoors for as much as possible in a state where I spend a good chunk of the year hugging a woodstove, outweighs any potential threat from a miserable black bug.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by OutDoorNut

...

I'm a hunter and fisherman, but I no longer go into the woods in any state where deer ticks and Lyme disease are prevalent.

Well, I spent last summer fishing and camping in the Maine woods. About a month ago I tested negative for Lyme disease. I avoid areas with large HUMAN populations. Wherever you find a lot humans, you'll find a bunch of deer.

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by OutDoorNut

You'll change your tune when tourism drops off.

And when no more nature lovers want to move to Maine and buy homes and spend money.

I'm a hunter and fisherman, but I no longer go into the woods in any state where deer ticks and Lyme disease are prevalent.

Lyme has been around for a long time. When the news runs out of stories that scare people (so they'll tune in) the drag tthis out. I haven't seen it drop the tourism or nature lovers as you speculate. You can't eradicate a species because of your irrational fear. Destroy nature and what would happen to tourism and nature lovers? For those who are scared of the ticks in the woods; stay home. Don't go ooutside, lock yourself in you home and watch the news and the nature on PBS where it's safe. I agree lyme disease is a terrible thing but there are precautions to take.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

Lyme has been around for a long time. When the news runs out of stories that scare people (so they'll tune in) the drag tthis out. I haven't seen it drop the tourism or nature lovers as you speculate. You can't eradicate a species because of your irrational fear. Destroy nature and what would happen to tourism and nature lovers? For those who are scared of the ticks in the woods; stay home. Don't go ooutside, lock yourself in you home and watch the news and the nature on PBS where it's safe. I agree lyme disease is a terrible thing but there are precautions to take.

Have to spread more of something around first, but great post.

[Fern435]

Originally Posted by OutDoorNut

You'll change your tune when tourism drops off.

And when no more nature lovers want to move to Maine and buy homes and spend money.

I'm a hunter and fisherman, but I no longer go into the woods in any state where deer ticks and Lyme disease are prevalent.

As other posters have pointed out, the areas with the highest risk for Lyme disease are regions with dense population clusters--MA, CT, NY, Maryland. A person wanting to enjoy nature and move farther from the threat of Lyme disease is more likely to come to northern Maine, using that line of thinking.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

lyme has been around for a long time. When the news runs out of stories that scare people (so they'll tune in) the drag tthis out. I haven't seen it drop the tourism or nature lovers as you speculate. You can't eradicate a species because of your irrational fear. Destroy nature and what would happen to tourism and nature lovers? For those who are scared of the ticks in the woods; stay home. Don't go ooutside, lock yourself in you home and watch the news and the nature on pbs where it's safe. I agree lyme disease is a terrible thing but there are precautions to take.

rep.

[tcrackly]

There is merit to a lot of the posters. Yes, large deer and human populations foster Lyme, but I still maintain that the eradication process should be focused on the disease spirochetes, not the host animals. I live in southern Maine, I know lots of Lyme victims. I feel for them. I spent many hours in the woods myself, with my dog and my husband. i've been bitten by deer ticks and I am still testing negative. I can only attribute that to regular vigilance, and perhaps a certain immunity afforded by minimal exposure---natural vaccination so to speak.

I will not stop going out in the woods and fields and I will limit my dependence on man-made chemicals to avoid this disease because of their own inherent risks.

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by bangorme

Well, I spent last summer fishing and camping in the Maine woods. About a month ago I tested negative for Lyme disease. I avoid areas with large HUMAN populations. Wherever you find a lot humans, you'll find a bunch of deer.

That's because humans tend to congregate near the coast, where the climate is warmer and Lyme disease friendlier.

As the climate continues to warm, there will likely be an increase of Lyme disease thoughout the state.

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by OutDoorNut

That's because humans tend to congregate near the coast, where the climate is warmer and Lyme disease friendlier.

As the climate continues to warm, there will likely be an increase of Lyme disease thoughout the state.

This December 22nd it won't matter if the Mayans are correct.

[BrokenTap]

Originally Posted by bangorme

Well, you have my sympathies about the having contracted Lyme disease, but I'm not sure what your point is here. You have allowed where you work and live to become a reservoir for deer ticks. Because of that choice, you have substantially increased the probability of you and your family (and pets) being exposed to the disease. As with all choices, there are consequences.

For the safety of your family, I advise you to come up with a method of encouraging the harvesting of deer on your property (perhaps by permit) so you can reduce your exposure.

Really the best way for me to reduce my exposure to deer ticks would be to disallow hunting altogether. A hunter can only take one deer per year by law, where as a coyote would take far more than that per year. Imagine if there was a whole pack of them, that would eliminate a lot of deer. So if I banned coyote hunts on my farm, that would actually better the situation deer tick wise...

but here is the kicker...

Of all the time I spend here, walking out in the woods, logging, building fences and harvesting crops, you would think that I would have contracted it here, but as I said in my original post, I got it from a hay bale. While I understand how anyone would assume that hay bale came from my farm, that isn't so. I buy my hay because we don't produce hay here, only silage. It figures though...only I could import something and then contract a disease from it. (LOL)

BTW: Just because you test negative for Lyme Disease does not mean you do not have it. The testing procedure for humans results in a lot of False-Negatives. (50-80% of the time)