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Curious, which parts of WV got more versus less ticks, or is it about the same?
Seems like lots of ticks right now in the Northeastern part....got bitten already.
Are there actually more of them in Southern counties - or less?
And say, a grassy place versus a forested one with lots of dead leaves, where would be more ticks?
Curious, which parts of WV got more versus less ticks, or is it about the same? Seems like lots of ticks right now in the Northeastern part....got bitten already.
Are there actually more of them in Southern counties - or less?
And say, a grassy place versus a forested one with lots of dead leaves, where would be more ticks?
Yup, the NE is full of tiny deer ticks, nasty little things. I doubt you can find a place where you can avoid them.
You are more likely to pick up a tick in high grass. It is where deer bed down, and where mice (the preferred host of tick nymphs) live as well. There are plenty of ticks in the woods too, but unless you are tromping through the brush, they are less likely to end up on you.
I would suggest
- Using OFF tick spray
- Where long pants
- tuck in your shirt
- always do a thorough tick check when you come in from a grassy/forested place.
Yup, the NE is full of tiny deer ticks, nasty little things. I doubt you can find a place where you can avoid them.
You are more likely to pick up a tick in high grass. It is where deer bed down, and where mice (the preferred host of tick nymphs) live as well. There are plenty of ticks in the woods too, but unless you are tromping through the brush, they are less likely to end up on you.
I would suggest
- Using OFF tick spray
- Where long pants
- tuck in your shirt
- always do a thorough tick check when you come in from a grassy/forested place.
The first and last are most important, IMO.
I'm not sure if you meant NE of WV or entire US NE.
I'm trying to understand if Southern counties have less ticks, versus where I'm right now, NE WV mountains. It's wetter here than in the South, but it's also colder. I recall someone from Western VA, by the WV border but right before the mountains start, right in the middle between South-North, was telling me that they got almost no ticks and their kids play all day outside, without being sprayed, and this was on acreage/pasture with animals.
I don't and can't use sprays. And ones made from natural oils, I believe they don't work (tried and tested), though I haven't tried vanilla yet.
Anyway, ticks seem to be out in full force this year and I got one from walking on dirt road with some old leaves on it, wasn't even going into the woods or near any brush, or on grass. Cut grass I guess is better than forest without underbrush, but with lots of leaves on the ground (my guess)
Checking for them doesn't work well for me, my eyes aren't too good apparently, neither I can feel them crawl or bite. Forest and grass are everywhere if you're in the country, so you step out of the house and you're among them, basically, can't really do extensive check after stepping out every time here.
I know all tick prevention measures well, etc, they just don't work too well for me and would like to know if there any parts of the state that are better.
Last edited by worldcitizen10; 04-03-2020 at 08:32 AM..
Ticks are all over. They're more dependent on habitat than region. Open fields will have significantly more ticks than forested areas.
This really makes me wonder....I updated my post above, on that Western VA property by WV border (all pasture/grass) they claimed to have almost no ticks and their kids were supposedly playing outside all the time without any repellents. This was around Lexington area. How is this possible if entire region is supposedly equally heavy on ticks and grass being more attractive to them?
They don't treat area for ticks.
Lyme disease - it's definitely mostly in the Northern part of WV, especially NE.
I'm not sure if you meant NE of WV or entire US NE.
I'm trying to understand if Southern counties have less ticks, versus where I'm right now, NE WV mountains. It's wetter here than in the South, but it's also colder. I recall someone from Western VA, by the WV border but right before the mountains start, right in the middle between South-North, was telling me that they got almost no ticks and their kids play all day outside, without being sprayed, and this was on acreage/pasture with animals.
I don't and can't use sprays. And ones made from natural oils, I believe they don't work (tried and tested), though I haven't tried vanilla yet.
Anyway, ticks seem to be out in full force this year and I got one from walking on dirt road with some old leaves on it, wasn't even going into the woods or near any brush, or on grass. Cut grass I guess is better than forest without underbrush, but with lots of leaves on the ground (my guess)
Checking for them doesn't work well for me, my eyes aren't too good apparently, neither I can feel them crawl or bite. Forest and grass are everywhere if you're in the country, so you step out of the house and you're among them, basically, can't really do extensive check after stepping out every time here.
I know all tick prevention measures well, etc, they just don't work too well for me and would like to know if there any parts of the state that are better.
Oh, I meant all over the NE US. As others have said, habitat matters more than exact geographic location.
I hear you about the difficulty in finding them, but to be blunt, if you check your hairline, crotch, armpits, and waistline you will find most of them. I do this every time I come in from the woods, and avoid high grass entirely (see no point in walking through it.) I figure I find 2-3 each year on my family of 4, normally early in the season. If you check right when you come inside, they don't have time to make it to your head.
You can also wear long pants, and tuck everything in, then change and wash clothes as soon as you come inside, including shoes.
The ticks are just a part of life around here, something has to give. Find a DEET spray you can tolerate, have another person help you check for ticks, dress properly, or take what mitigation efforts work for you.
Oh, I meant all over the NE US. As others have said, habitat matters more than exact geographic location.
I hear you about the difficulty in finding them, but to be blunt, if you check your hairline, crotch, armpits, and waistline you will find most of them. I do this every time I come in from the woods, and avoid high grass entirely (see no point in walking through it.) I figure I find 2-3 each year on my family of 4, normally early in the season. If you check right when you come inside, they don't have time to make it to your head.
You can also wear long pants, and tuck everything in, then change and wash clothes as soon as you come inside, including shoes.
The ticks are just a part of life around here, something has to give. Find a DEET spray you can tolerate, have another person help you check for ticks, dress properly, or take what mitigation efforts work for you.
I'd say grass cut short should be the best type of vegetation to repel them. My understanding they don't deal well with sunlight and dryness and like shade (they can be shaded in the tall grass, of course). Woods are good for them because of shade and more moisture.
Nah, I can't find a tick to save my life , plus nymps/larval stage ticks are so tiny it's just too hard to see...and I'm in and out of the house a lot, woods around here, and extensive checks really take time. I do wear long pants and sleeves all the time, and hats too, but washing pants after every day or every time outside is just a wee bit too often, huh.... Nope, I don't use pesticides and can't tolerate them. Another person? I'm a hermit, definitely don't have another person to check for ticks May be there're more ticks now than what it used to be... Finding 2-3 ticks a year on a family of 4 isn't much, but I guess they use repellents, also.
I think in part, it depends on the weather as well. Ticks aren't usually bad in the Huntington area but the last 2-3 years, we've had milder winters and wetter than usual springs and I think both of those conditions allow for ticks to be worse. They still weren't a "problem" here per se but being someone who likes to hike, I would sometimes have 2-3 crawling on me after a long hike rather than 1 or even none.
Quote:
Still, climatic conditions can make some years worse for ticks than others. Ticks thrive in humidity, so a wet year can boost populations and increase the number of places they can live in. And warm winters and lingering summer heat add weeks of activity for the animals that ticks use as hosts, making them more likely to spread into the areas where humans live.
This really makes me wonder....I updated my post above, on that Western VA property by WV border (all pasture/grass) they claimed to have almost no ticks and their kids were supposedly playing outside all the time without any repellents. This was around Lexington area. How is this possible if entire region is supposedly equally heavy on ticks and grass being more attractive to them?
They don't treat area for ticks.
Lyme disease - it's definitely mostly in the Northern part of WV, especially NE.
Higher elevation areas are colder and do have less in general. However, habitat still plays a bigger part than region
I'd say grass cut short should be the best type of vegetation to repel them. My understanding they don't deal well with sunlight and dryness and like shade (they can be shaded in the tall grass, of course). Woods are good for them because of shade and more moisture.
Nah, I can't find a tick to save my life , plus nymps/larval stage ticks are so tiny it's just too hard to see...and I'm in and out of the house a lot, woods around here, and extensive checks really take time. I do wear long pants and sleeves all the time, and hats too, but washing pants after every day or every time outside is just a wee bit too often, huh.... Nope, I don't use pesticides and can't tolerate them. Another person? I'm a hermit, definitely don't have another person to check for ticks May be there're more ticks now than what it used to be... Finding 2-3 ticks a year on a family of 4 isn't much, but I guess they use repellents, also.
Yeah, they really help, but to each their own. I have changed my habits a good bit over the last few years too, try to stay on groomed trail more, stay off game trails, etc.
Really, it is Lyme you are trying to avoid, more than the ticks themselves.
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, plus nymps/larval stage ticks are so tiny it's just too hard to see...and I'm in and out of the house a lot, woods around here, and extensive checks really take time. I do wear long pants and sleeves all the time, and hats too, but washing pants after every day or every time outside is just a wee bit too often, huh.... Nope, I don't use pesticides and can't tolerate them. Another person? I'm a hermit, definitely don't have another person to check for ticks 
