By Pat Dray
The Garden Spot
Pat Dray
We are starting to see the impact of climate change even in the type of insects that we now see here in southern Connecticut.
The amount of climate change is easily understood by looking at the USDA plant hardiness zones. The 2012 map had us in Zone 6, which means that winter lows averaged between -10 to zero degrees Fahrenheit. The 2023 map has us in Zone 7b, which means that the winter lows now average between 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit. These temperature changes mean that insects that were not generally seen here are now becoming more common.
Although most of us will immediately fear Lyme disease if they find an embedded tick on their body, new tick-borne illnesses are constantly being discovered. The most recent making the news is alpha-gal syndrome, a potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat and mammal-derived products.
In the US, AGS is primarily associated with the bite of a lone star tick and less commonly by the bite of a blacklegged tick or a western blacklegged tick. In recent decades, lone star ticks have been moving northward, overlapping with the range of blacklegged ticks in the Northeast. This is climate change at work.
It will generally take between 10 minutes and two hours for a tick to embed itself on a host and spread disease. Avoidance and prompt removal of any ticks is key. Since ticks live in areas with tall grass, brush or wooded areas, when enjoying the outdoors avoid unmown grass, wood piles and shrubs.
Remember, ticks don’t “jump” – they play contact sports. They move by crawling and use a behavior called questing to find hosts. They climb onto blades of grass, low shrubs or other vegetation and extend their front legs to detect heat, carbon dioxide and movement from nearby hosts. When a person or animal brushes past, the tick can attach itself.
Prevention is key to avoiding ticks and tick-borne illnesses. Wear a hat and long, light colored pants tucked in to your socks so that you see any ticks easily and can remove them before they reach your skin. Use an Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol, or 2-undecanone. You can treat your clothing with products containing 0.5 percent permethrin, which will remain protective through several washings. You can even buy permethrin-treated clothing and gear, including special socks.
I spray my gardening pants and hat with repellent and always leave them outside between washing just in case they have a hitchhiker on board.
Shower as soon as possible after coming indoors, but always within two hours to minimize the potential for any tick to embed itself. Wash clothing in hot (not warm) water and/or put them in the dryer on high for 10 minutes to kill any ticks that may have attached themselves.
It’s also very important to check your pets for ticks, since they can bring one into the house where it may then migrate to you. There are a wide variety of prescription medications (oral and topical) for tick protection of pets.
Follow these tips and have a safe and enjoyable summer.
Pat Dray is a past president of the Garden Club of Orange and a master gardener.