Naturalist’s Corner: Ticks and Mosquitoes Part 2

Jul 29, 2020

Posted July 29, 2020

Written by Kyla Isakson

Ticks are found in a range of habitats including where lawns meet woods, under leaves, around areas where small mammals live, tall brush and grasses, and wooded areas. To avoid contact with ticks, stay in the center of trails and avoid wooded areas with brush, leaf litter, and high grass. Ticks are typically found in ground level to one and one half feet tall (approximately knee high) brush, so to prevent them from crawling from your feet and legs to a higher place to bite, try tucking your pants into your socks. To avoid contact with both ticks and mosquitoes, it is advised that you wear long sleeved shirts and long pants. 

Whenever you spend time outdoors, use insect repellent and remember to check yourself for ticks! If you find a tick, take a photo and report it to the TickEncounter Resource Center, a program at The University of Rhode Island. 

To learn more about tick and mosquito life cycles, what it means to be a bridge vector, how warming temperatures can affect disease transmission, and the best ways to protect yourself from tick and mosquito bites, watch the recording of the Wareham Land Trust’s program “The Bugs That Bug You,” a talk by Plymouth County Entomologist Educator Blake Dinius held in September 2019. 

Some other helpful links shared with us by Blake:

Free tick identification:
University of Rhode Island’s TickSpotters:
https://tickencounter.org/tickspotters

Tick Testing ($15 for Plymouth county residents, $50 for outside Plymouth county):
University of Massachusetts – Amherst’s TickReport:
https://www.tickreport.com/