To the Editor:
I attended the tick-talk meeting last week with Patrick Roden-Reynolds and learned the following:
He recommend focusing on personal protection (DEET, treated clothes, socks in pants, etc.) as the foundation of safety. He also stressed getting rid of leaf litter, and discouraging animals that will bring ticks into your yard, such as mice, deer, and turkeys. Apparently, the lone stars like turkeys; the deer ticks attach to mice more; and everybody attaches to deer.
There are two families of spray: The synthetic sprays are pyrethroids, similar to that derived from chrysanthemum. They are about 50 to 80 percent effective, and also kill all the other insects –– bird goodies and pollinators. It is also very toxic to cats, but not dogs.
The “organic” spray is primarily cedarwood oil, and it does function as a mild deterrent, but is not very effective, and results are inconclusive. It has not been well studied how it affects other insects, but Roden-Reynolds thought that since it is an oil, and insects breathe through their skin, it would be lethal to them as well. The claim by the vendors is that it also affects wasps, mosquitoes, fleas, and ants, so I conclude it is indiscriminate to other insects. (Wasps but not bees?)
In both cases, studies have shown that, although some ticks are killed, possibly even a majority of them, there is no reduction of human tick-borne disease. This means that those ticks that survived the spray are still biting people, so the spraying in fact does not really make much difference to human health.
Ticks do not travel long distances, and they cannot tolerate drought, so if there is an area where you frequent in the yard, it would be useful to cover it. They dry out very easily, so anything like dirt, gravel, or paving stones will be safe. He also said that there is a granule (I did not catch the name) to spot-treat certain areas, such as the path to the car. This is also a pyrethroid, so should not be spread everywhere. I think it would be better to have a gravel path to your car, your compost pile, and your trash barrels.
I am remembering “Silent Spring” and the horrors from DDT, as I see fewer insects today than a few years ago.
Beatrice Phear
West Tisbury