Ticks Are Making A Fall Comeback After The Summer Drought

I remember pulling my first tick off myself this year in April. and not late April either. It was well before the big snow storm that knocked out power for days at the end of the month. And I also remember thinking at the time, "oh great. It's gonna be a banner year for ticks". And then the drought came.

All summer, while it was kind of nice to not have rain spoil much of the good weather, we began seeing less and less water in wells. It didn't affect me personally, but I know people who had wells run dry this year. Especially in southern Maine where the drought hit hardest.

Somewhere around August, my wife mentioned to me one evening around the fire pit, that she hadn't found a tick on herself in weeks. And this is after ticks checks became a daily occurrence in our house. We thought maybe it was just our imagination, but it turns out it wasn't.

According to the BDN, the dry conditions of the drought were pretty hard on the tick population... not that anyone was complaining. But now, as rain is in the forecast more steadily, they're coming back for round 2. Fall tick season has really just gotten underway, running from mid-October untl around mid-November.

So as usual, the best offense against ticks is always a good defense. Wear long clothing, use permethrin, or some repellent of your choice. At my house we use a product called Cedarcide. It works great! and doesn't smell as gross as other products out there. It smells like cedar, which ticks and other insects find pretty awful.

the thing is, we live in Maine, and ticks for better or worse, have become part of oru outdoor culture at this point, so there isn't any real new or relevant information about avoiding them. So do what you do best... wear appropriate clothing, and check yourself every time you're outdoors for long periods.

Or, you could just try a flame thrower. It may not kill any ticks, but you'll feel pretty awesome.