December 1, 2020
My friend pulled off a deer tick last night from a walk through Greenbelt National Park a few days ago and is going to start a round of the antibiotic doxycycline.
This fall, after you go outside on a walk in woods or grass, it’s a good idea to put your clothes and even tennies into the washer, especially if you didn't put deet on your shoes and socks and lower pant legs or skirt before you went out. https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/index.html.
Its also a good idea to treat your shoes with permethrin (safely and carefully as it’s a neurotoxin) which actually kills ticks.
The DC area is a high deer tick and lyme disease hotspot. People even get ticks and tick borne diseases gardening in their yards. There are no wolves and not enough foxes, so we have overpopuation of deer and mice - and not enough opossums to eat all the deer ticks. https://www.sierraclub.org/maryland/suburban-deer-management. It's been quite warm so tick borne disease is still a possible issue for the DMV even though it’s the beginning of December. https://dchealth.dc.gov/page/tickborne-diseases
"For freezing temperatures to kill most ticks, there must be a sustained number of days below 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Fall weather may mean ticks are even more active as they begin a frantic search for a host animal whose body heat and blood will allow them to survive the winter. Dec 18, 2017" https://www.pctonline.com/article/does-winter--fend-off-ticks/
Thankfully not all ticks are infected. If you find and remove them within 24 hrs, the likelihood of disease transmission is very reduced. And vaccines are being developed. In the meantime, put deet on shoes and socks, lemon eucalyptus elsewhere and on body, wash clothes, and check for ticks regularly. If you find an embedded tick, and didn't get it out within 24 hrs, watch for symptoms and talk with your doctor about the need for antibiotics.
Submitted by Laurel Imlay for Outdoors for All and Maryland Natural Places Committee