is the tick situation back to normal?

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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Chip Down
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is the tick situation back to normal?

Post by Chip Down » December 24th, 2022, 7:32 pm

In the middle of the last decade, we observed an explosion in the OR/WA tick population, especially in the gorge. It's not just that we had 2 or 3 times the normal number of ticks; it was biblical swarms of ticks, for years. But I don't hear any talk of it anymore. Are we back to normal? I don't mean right at this moment, as they're all buried in ice and snow. But was the summer of 2021/2022 back to the good ol' days? Did covid kill them off?

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adamschneider
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Re: is the tick situation back to normal?

Post by adamschneider » December 24th, 2022, 8:09 pm

I honestly don't remember any sort of biblical tick situation.

Jbar290
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Re: is the tick situation back to normal?

Post by Jbar290 » December 24th, 2022, 9:07 pm

I remember around 2015 they constantly tested us in school for a “superbug” tick. Nobody ever had one. A very big deal on the news though

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retired jerry
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Re: is the tick situation back to normal?

Post by retired jerry » December 25th, 2022, 5:38 am

I don't track this carefully, but, it seems like maybe 2010 to 2021 I got progressively more tick bites. Maybe 8 total. For decades before I got maybe 2 tick bites.

I don't think I've had any the last year. Yeah, I'm sure they've been killed off by Covid :)

Maybe it's that I'm more careful treating my pants with permethrin or checking for them and removing before they become imbedded.

Or just random - the next year I'll get a bite or two.

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dmthomas49
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Re: is the tick situation back to normal?

Post by dmthomas49 » December 25th, 2022, 12:16 pm

I hope the corona virus issue gets resolved before tick season, otherwise we will have Corona with Lyme…. :lol:
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."
— John Muir

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