This morning I listened to an item on ticks on my favorite radio program on CBC. Ticks have been in the news lately as they have become more abundant. They were noted for passing on Lyme disease but now they pass on other diseases. They are annoying because they are sneaky little beggars that attach themselves and are on your body before you know it.
The expert being interviewed suggested that ticks were moving about 50 km further north every year and that this was due to climate change.
People remember when they've had a tick or when a pet has had a tick. One I remember is when I had a tick on my throat just below the edge of my beard. Luckily, my brother saw it and took it off before any harm was done.
I taught outdoor ed for a number of years. We took the students on 3 field trips a year. When you're taking out 35 kids for two nights and 3 days very strict routines have to be set up. One of the routines was for each student to have a buddy to check for ticks.
One time we had a couple of extra hours so we took them on a trail on the side of a mountain.. This was in late March and on a south facing slope where the snow had disappeared. So ticks were already active.
We got o the bus and one of the students found a tick. There was excitement and pandemonium and all the kids got off the bus. The checking was done and no more ticks were found. We loaded the bus and headed for home with an interesting event to tell about.
Whenever I go by I still look up on the mountainside and remember the tick episode
