Up-tick? Long Island seeing more of the blood-suckers this year
Long Islanders better brace for a bloodthirsty summer.
Populations of several tick species across both Nassau and Suffolk counties have exploded since the fall, experts told The Post.
'I have friends working in the state and county parks, and the talk is, 'Oh, my God, it's so bad this year!'' said Janine Bendicksen, director of wildlife rehabilitation at Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown.
Bendicksen said Sweetbriar has taken in more goslings this spring than in previous years, with groups of 10 to 20 coming in at a clip.
4 Tick populations appear to be booming on Long Island.
Oleksandr – stock.adobe.com
'They were lethargic. Their feet were curling up, and they'd flip over, because they were dying,' she explained. 'All of a sudden, we saw all of these tiny black ticks coming off of them.'
Sweetbriar's team realized the baby birds were anemic from the bloodsuckers.
'Goslings and ducklings never have ticks on them, because ticks tend to go for mammals,' Bendicksen said. 'That is an indication that, 'Uh-oh, it's gonna be a bad season.''
The Lone Star, American Dog, and blacklegged tick — which can transmit a bevy of illnesses such as Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that causes flu-like symptoms — have all been on the rise across Long Island, experts said. They can also spread potentially-fatal bacterial infections such as ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis, along with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Powassan virus.
4 Deers are among the many animals that help spread ticks on Long Island.
Dan – stock.adobe.com
Several factors account for the population explosion, including weather and host animal abundance. Long Island had a rather mild winter, which can increase tick activity, said Dr. Scott Campbell, Suffolk County's entomologist. A wet spring also tend to bring out more ticks.
'There's a lot of moving parts,' said Campbell. 'There's no silver bullet, but multiple factors are playing a role.'
Rodent populations are also on the rise — potentially caused by a dip in the number of predators that feed on them including owls and snakes — helping boost tick numbers.
In Suffolk, there were 3,299 reported cases of Lyme disease in 2023 — up from 2,668 the year before. Only 697 cases were reported in Nassau County in 2023, while data from the prior year was not immediately available.
Over 21,000 Lyme disease cases were reported statewide in 2023.
4 Ticks carry a multitude of infectious diseases.
meepoohyaphoto – stock.adobe.com
And more than 89,000 U.S. cases were reported across the US in 2023, the CDC reported.
Ulises Galdamez, 36, owner of Long Island Tick Sprays in Hampton Bays, told The Post this is the first season since launching his business in 2016 that his phone started ringing in early March.
'Normally, April is when we get people reaching out to us,' he explained. 'This year's going to be bad, because we've definitely had more people calling us this year than any other year before. We've been going nonstop — it's shaping up to be our busiest season so far.'
4 Ticks love tall grass, and wind can carry them towards sunbathers.
Joe Trentacosti – stock.adobe.com
Bendicksen suggested wearing 'socks on the outside of your pants' to keep the critters off exposed skin. Keeping rodents and larger mammals away with fences and other measures is also important she said.
And keep a lint roller handy — they're excellent for removing ticks, she added.
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