The tick season has arrived. Did it ever end? The Vineyard Haven library and the Martha’s Vineyard Tick Program will launch weekly virtual office hours, where members of the community can ask questions, share experiences, and learn more about ticks, tick-borne diseases, and alpha-gal syndrome. Tick science can be complicated — but getting answers shouldn’t be. “Tick Talk Thursdays” offer a space for the community to ask questions, share experiences, and learn more about ticks, tick-borne diseases, and alpha-gal syndrome.*
The Martha’s Vineyard Tick-Borne Illness Reduction Initiative (Tick Program) is dedicated to reducing the number of ticks and tick-borne illnesses on Martha’s Vineyard through education, advocacy, and cooperation with other organizations and individuals. First founded in 2011 by Dick Johnson, current Tick Program staff include tick and deer biologist Patrick Roden-Reynolds and epidemiologist Lea Hamner.
This event will be held via Zoom, Thursdays, 12 to 1 pm, beginning April 30. Interested patrons may register on the library’s event calendar at vhlibrary.org to receive the Zoom link. For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or 508-696-4211.
*Note that individual medical advice will not be provided. Please consult your medical provider if you have questions about your own health.
Next door on the Elizabeth Islands we have no paved roads or vehicles on most of the islands, so we are exposed to ticks as soon as we step out the door. We have all the ticks and tickborne illnesses MV has. We tried everything and find that permethrin treated clothing is very effective, but that the gap between shoe, sock and cuff is a weak spot where ticks often penetrate. Based on ten years of tests we have devised an oversock that gives a tight-weave barrier of parachute fabric from toe to knee and has a tick trap turndown at the top to stop climbing ticks. We sewed up a batch of our “Ticktogs” in Fall River, had them treated at Insect Shield in NC and offer them on Etsy. We hope that the Vineyard finds them as useful as we have. Goal: zero tick bites.