Honest opinion on Rocky Point/Sound Beach areas (Stony Brook, Patchogue: hardwood floor, mcmansions)

[41Willys]

Originally Posted by jenbooks13

You saw two deer...
My whole intention is to find a neighborhood without deer because of the threat of lyme disease, which I already got in Connecticut and is chronic. Therefore I do NOT want deer on my lawn. They bring ticks. That's how I got it, on somebody's lawn where deer ate her flowers. It is really epidemic in areas where deer are frequent. Field mice also carry ticks of course. My friend in Southold got lyme but got over it quickly. However a Brooklyn couple I know who have a summer home in East Marion (?) on the tip of the northfork, every golden retriever they get, eventually gets lyme and *dies* of it. They've had 3 die of it, whether caught early or late.

The areas I looked in Rocky Point, nobody in the neighborhood had any deer. Small homes, small plots, small winding streets. Deer might be across the highway in the woods, they said.

Thoughts anybody? Was talking today with a doctor friend of mine whose family has chronic lyme (except the youngest son is totally healthy) and she said don't move to Long Island period. They moved to the southwest. They used to live in Great Barrington Ma on a big wooded proeprty. Her parents live in East Quogue. She said there's lots of lyme *there*. Anyway, I said, I think it depends on the neighborhood. She ethought about it and said, you might be right as nobody in Pittsfield MA seemed to have it but lots of people in Great Barrington did. I mentioned this to Isabel Lapadula too. If you live ona certain kind of high end wooded property you may indeed get deer visiting a lot. That is not what I want. I want to be able to walk into my backyard in my bare feet and not worry about ticks.

Doesn't matter, LI is a breeding ground for lyme disease and it has been almost 30 years. That and poison ivy, Especially on the north shore!!

[jenbooks13]

Well, I definitely would not buy a house where deer walk on the property. As pretty as they are, one deer can carry 1000 ticks. That's asking for it. I think it does matter...awareness, being careful, and avoiding hotspots.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by jenbooks13

You saw two deer...
My whole intention is to find a neighborhood without deer because of the threat of lyme disease, which I already got in Connecticut and is chronic. Therefore I do NOT want deer on my lawn. They bring ticks. That's how I got it, on somebody's lawn where deer ate her flowers. It is really epidemic in areas where deer are frequent. Field mice also carry ticks of course. My friend in Southold got lyme but got over it quickly. However a Brooklyn couple I know who have a summer home in East Marion (?) on the tip of the northfork, every golden retriever they get, eventually gets lyme and *dies* of it. They've had 3 die of it, whether caught early or late.

The areas I looked in Rocky Point, nobody in the neighborhood had any deer. Small homes, small plots, small winding streets. Deer might be across the highway in the woods, they said.

Thoughts anybody? Was talking today with a doctor friend of mine whose family has chronic lyme (except the youngest son is totally healthy) and she said don't move to Long Island period. They moved to the southwest. They used to live in Great Barrington Ma on a big wooded proeprty. Her parents live in East Quogue. She said there's lots of lyme *there*. Anyway, I said, I think it depends on the neighborhood. She ethought about it and said, you might be right as nobody in Pittsfield MA seemed to have it but lots of people in Great Barrington did. I mentioned this to Isabel Lapadula too. If you live ona certain kind of high end wooded property you may indeed get deer visiting a lot. That is not what I want. I want to be able to walk into my backyard in my bare feet and not worry about ticks.

Forget the north shore and the south shore-- wherever there are wooded areas, you are bound to have deer ticks -- don't forget that mice can carry deer ticks, too. My ex was from the south shore -- he had Lyme, friends from Deer Park -- Lyme, neighbor and FIL Setauket & Stony Brook - Lyme, old lab in Rocky Point -- Lyme. Then again, I've pulled deer ticks off myself and my son in Vermont, too.

My friend bought a bunch of hens (not the regular chicken variety) as a 'green' way to eliminate ticks.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by jenbooks13

Well, I definitely would not buy a house where deer walk on the property. As pretty as they are, one deer can carry 1000 ticks. That's asking for it. I think it does matter...awareness, being careful, and avoiding hotspots.

Deer don't have to walk on the property -- I have no deer in my neighborhood, and yet the boy across the street contracted Lyme. Raccoons, mice, possum, chipmunks, squirrel, rabbits, rats, moles, voles, fox, dogs, cats -- domestic and feral -- all can serve as a vector for deer ticks.

If you are serious about wanting to avoid deer ticks, avoid LI. If that is not an option, lessen the chance by moving into a densely populated and over-developed area which is not near any wooded places.

[jenbooks13]

OhBeeHave, there is some truth to this, but I suppose its a matter of "law of large #'s."

Also sometimes people get it because they're not aware, and spend time in nearby woods (walking dogs for instance) etc.

If I say I want to avoid LI, I also need to avoid New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Westchester, Massachussetts you name it. It's all over. The city is safe of course but noisy.

I think its a matter of relative risk. I definitely DON'T want a property with deer. Yes other creatures, esp. mice can be vectors, but the deer are the main problem.

All those people you mentioned--did they get over it quickly? Just curious. I think there are different strains, and some areas with multiple infections much more common.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by jenbooks13

OhBeeHave, there is some truth to this, but I suppose its a matter of "law of large #'s."

Also sometimes people get it because they're not aware, and spend time in nearby woods (walking dogs for instance) etc.

If I say I want to avoid LI, I also need to avoid New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Westchester, Massachussetts you name it. It's all over. The city is safe of course but noisy.

I think its a matter of relative risk. I definitely DON'T want a property with deer. Yes other creatures, esp. mice can be vectors, but the deer are the main problem.

All those people you mentioned--did they get over it quickly? Just curious. I think there are different strains, and some areas with multiple infections much more common.

There are deer all over the place -- I live in Stony Brook, and while there aren't any on my particular street, there are some that live on SUNY campus, some over in St James on the Gyrodyne property, on BB&G farms and throughout Head of the Harbor. I've seen them in Nissoquoge (sp?)and on the northerly/easterly fringes of Smithtown. I've seen them in Setauket -- in fact I saw one get hit by a car on route 25A by the FD! They are all over the LIPA ROWs. I've seen them in the preserve areas in Rocky Point. I've seen them in the State Parks -- north and south shore, Connetquot Park, (I am blanking on the other park name that runs from Vets to Oakdale) East Islip, Bayshore, Fire Island and Bohemia.

Having worked for MDs and having many friends over at UHSB, mice are the bigger problem on LI where deer ticks are concerned -- not deer. We get field mice into cellars through cracks, they slip under gargage doors, they chew in from outside -- whatever it takes to get in. They bring the ticks in to you. Granted, you are more likely to pick up a lot of them outdoors gardening or raking leaves -- this is tick time -- and walking Fido.

Mostly everyone who had it did get well fairly quickly. I forgot about my friend's husband -- his case lasted much longer -- he ended up with Bell's Palsy at one point -- but after about 6-9 months (a bit foggy on this one) he was better. Most doctors are in tune with Lyme now, leading to faster response times.

My child was 4 months old and I found a deer tick on her shoulder as I changed her out of her onesie. We hadn't gone anywhere that day. She was too young for crawling around and I certainly do not have deer on my street. Chances are my dog carried it in and it crawled into her crib. I was horrified. Fortunately, nothing happened to her -- the doctors sent bloodwork out on my child and her titers came back negative.

On LI, don't be as concerned about the deer -- be more concerned about wooded areas.

[jenbooks13]

Thanks OhBeeHave. That really helps. I hear what you are saying.

Do field mice burrow into the basements of most houses? Or only certain kinds of houses in certain neighborhoods?

That all of them got well is encouraging. Whatever I got out in Connecticut was *nasty*. Whatever my friend in Southold got was mild and he got over it in 2 weeks. There is a lot of the coinfection babesia out in Connecticut.

When we were looking at homes last Saturday, one home had a very boisterous huge puppy who bounded through the fence over to us and jumped all over us in a frenzy. I remember thinking, I wouldn't want a neighbor like this. Not only because the dog was barking and so might bark a lot, but, that's the kind of dog that could go running in the woods, pick up a bunch of ticks, and drop them on my lawn

I'll keep this in mind when we go looking again this Saturday.

[sean sean sean sean]

Jen, I'd imagine Shoreham (where I saw the deer) is much less densely populated than Rocky Point. This was a large house on a very large piece of land that backed the sound....but realistically this is something that you'll have to deal with anywhere in the Northeast United States, not just LI like you said. There are deer in virtually every part of Suffolk County, and even some parts of Nassau on the north shore....even where I live in Nassau - which is a world away from RP/Shoreham - we still have plenty of rabbits, raccoons and squirrels. The only time I've ever been bit by a tick was in Yaphank and I don't know anyone personally who's ever had lyme disease....but I think if you're looking for something on LI that's somewhat rural, you're just gonna have to suck it up and hope for the best. The risk is always gonna be there, but lyme isn't really all that common....when you say it's chronic do you also mean that your family is more predisposed to contracting it? Sorry if I sound stupid on that I'm not even really sure how it works.

[jenbooks13]

Hi sean sean sean. That's more in line with what I thought but the picture is a bit confusing as I'm sure bee is reporting her experience correctly and so are you, and the folks in rocky pt last week were too (they didnt' have it and didn't know folks who had it). so i guess i'll simply have to ask around a lot more.

awareness is important too. dogs, certain kinds anyway who are active and like to romp in the woods, can raise your risk (as bee said, the dog probably brought in the tick that got on her daughter).

it is my opinion that different neighborhoods have a lot more or less ticks depending on the presence of deer, and that strains vary by small regions. By chronic I mean I didn't get over it with six weeks of antibiotics and I chose not to do a lot more antibiotics, and that was years ago. Some people have a harder time with it but I'm convinced that's strain variation by region.

so the last thing i want is to get yet another strain of it. that doesn't mean i want to only live on concrete, but i would be increasing my risk tons if i lived on a property or in a neighborhood with deer. when they did a study on some island where they took the deer away (physically transported) the lyme disease plummeted. its true other animals including humans can be vectors, but for whatever reasons, the deer are the main animal that causes the ticks to flourish. the incidence of ly me also plummets in areas where they put deer feeders that require the deer to put their head through a smallish enclosure and it gets pesticide on them that doesn't harm them but kills ticks. i think in those experiments the incidence of lyme has dropped to negligible. maybe that's why they're called deer ticks.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by jenbooks13

Thanks OhBeeHave. That really helps. I hear what you are saying.

Do field mice burrow into the basements of most houses? Or only certain kinds of houses in certain neighborhoods?

That all of them got well is encouraging. Whatever I got out in Connecticut was *nasty*. Whatever my friend in Southold got was mild and he got over it in 2 weeks. There is a lot of the coinfection babesia out in Connecticut.

When we were looking at homes last Saturday, one home had a very boisterous huge puppy who bounded through the fence over to us and jumped all over us in a frenzy. I remember thinking, I wouldn't want a neighbor like this. Not only because the dog was barking and so might bark a lot, but, that's the kind of dog that could go running in the woods, pick up a bunch of ticks, and drop them on my lawn

I'll keep this in mind when we go looking again this Saturday.

The mice aren't too picky as to the neighborhoods .

Seriously, older homes are going to be more prone to mice invasions as there may be gaps between the sill plates and foundations, poorly maintained or installed Bilco (exterior cellar entrance) doors, a crawlspace as opposed to a basement that they can enter more easily -- you have to think like a little mouse -- they can flatten out and get under old drafty doors easily, too.

Newer homes have had to meet increasingly more stringent building code and have had less time to experience the sort of rot/damage that vermin would use to get inside. BUT folks who have newer homes with attached garages do themselves a tremendous disservice when they leave their garage doors open -- so much easier for the little Mickeys to get in.

Given your experience with Lyme, I can't say I blame you one iota for being overly cautious. A bounding, big, noisy puppy sounds like a tick taxi to me. Good luck with your search