[Cambium]

Last yr was bad in CT. Will this yr be too?

We only had 2 weeks this winter that was cold enough to kill bugs so it wasn't long enough. Then we just had the wettest February on record with lots of rain...

https://twitter.com/SamKantrow/statu...42908671889408

And why would you after such a cold winter? Unfortunately it was not cold enough, and it didn’t last long enough to make a dent in the tick population. The proof can be seen at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s tick testing lab, where staff are busy dealing with the 40 ticks they’ve gotten from bite victims in Connecticut…over the last two days alone!

Dr. Goudarz Molaei of the Tick Testing Lab at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station warned, “It is quite alarming to see this many ticks in two days at this time of the year and that spells trouble for the weeks and months ahead of us.”

......

So what does the future hold?

“I predict that we are going unfortunately to have a year with abundant ticks similar to last year.” stated Molaei

Meaning it will only get worse as we head into spring, so make sure you inspect yourself, your kids, and especially your pets every time you go outside before you come back inside

[RoundTableKnight]

This is THE reason why I'm always rooting for very cold winters.

[AK-Cathy]

If you can keep them on your property and are so inclined, get chickens or other similar type birds like chukars, guinea fowl etc. They are hell on ticks. Our neighbor's free ranging chickens from both sides decimated our tick population for multiple generations. When we first moved here 6 years ago we couldn't go out into the yard for any length of time w/o getting ticks on us. Enter neighbor's chickens and 3 years later the ticks are still not common. Unfortunately the west neighbor's flock was decimated by coyotes but the east neighbor's flock is growing. They are welcome.

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by AK-Cathy

If you can keep them on your property and are so inclined, get chickens or other similar type birds like chukars, guinea fowl etc. They are hell on ticks. Our neighbor's free ranging chickens from both sides decimated our tick population for multiple generations. When we first moved here 6 years ago we couldn't go out into the yard for any length of time w/o getting ticks on us. Enter neighbor's chickens and 3 years later the ticks are still not common. Unfortunately the west neighbor's flock was decimated by coyotes but the east neighbor's flock is growing. They are welcome.

Question. Do you need these chickens to roam around every part of the property all the time or would they"take care of them" for couple hours a day? Still would mean you need to fence in your entire property though. I like the idea of chickens vs chemicals

[Mike 75]

Seems like every year is a bad year for ticks, no matter what the winter is like.

[AK-Cathy]

Our neighbors chickens roam, no fence and seem to have sense about the road but its not too busy of a road. I've not seen them cross it. They go home to roost in the evening. Chickens do this seemingly naturally but the habit can be reinforced with a bit of grain feeding in the evening. They come in to get their goodies at dusk. Our neighbor then shuts them up after they are in for the evening, lets them out in the morning. Our west neighbor did the same thing but the coyotes got their chickens one by one over a year's time.

It was great. A little chicken poo on the walk that we had to hose off but the ticks and other insect pests were goners. They will also eat small rodents and snakes. Plus they lay eggs.

[El Scorcho]

Last year was supposedly bad, but not for us. I found on tick on one of my kids. None on the dog or cat. And we live in the woods. Let's hope this year is the same!

[Cambium]

Very wet spring and summer and a warm summer and fall...not helping the bug, mosquito and tick population. On top of that, a new form has been found.

https://twitter.com/HamdenPatch/stat...18899286069248

[synchem]

April 2017 was the first time we saw ticks on the kids from playing in the backyard. I think the first warm weekend that month we found 3 total. Since then I've been getting the yard sprayed for ticks/mosquitos and the rest of 2017 didn't see another tick. This year we saw 1 tick in July (on a yard toy). I'll keep getting the yard sprayed since the tick situation doesn't seem to be getting better. Doesn't help we get lots a wildlife coming through the backyard either.

[clutchrider]

This year was a lot better than last. We did keep the dog on his Advantix II but I kept the yard covered with either a insecticide or granules to keep them away. That and my new 8hp walk behind blower helps keep the woodline clear.