Syracuse.com - Green Lakes State Park among local hot spots for ticks this spring

[HuntingNY-News]

Some areas of Central New York are more tick-infested than others. Green Lakes State Park and the surrounding area, for example, with its unchecked and ever-growing deer population, is the local Ground Zero for Lyme disease.

Victoria Arocho A female deer tick.

Peter Palumb’s experience last weekend is food for thought, and may even make your skin crawl.

Paumb, operations sergeant at the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion in Syracuse, was out on property next to Green Lakes State Park, land on which he’s been given permission by the owner to hunt deer and turkey.

“Saturday afternoon I hiked the property, observing many turkey and a few white-tail deer,” he began. “After three hours of scouting, I headed back to my car. Once inside my car I noticed three ticks crawling on my left leg.

“After removing them and placing them inside an empty prescription bottle, I got out of the car only to find 11 more crawling on the exterior of my clothing. Once home, I disrobed and went into the bathroom and found another three on my body, one which had already pierced my skin. I removed them all and took a long, hot shower and checked myself again once to ensure none remained.”

What got my attention is that Palumb said he never once sat down as he often does while hunting. He said he walked through the woods, open fields and scrub bedding areas looking for sheds (shed deer antlers).

“I can tell you from many years of doing this for enjoyment and exercise, I have on a rare occasion found a single stray tick on my body or clothing,” he said. “I have never seen it like this. The more I read about Lyme disease the more uneasy I become.”

Staff writer Kathleen Poliquin reported earlier this week that experts have said our past mild winter will translate into a bad year for ticks. Palumb’s account adds credence to her story.

Victoria Arocho Some perspective on their size.

Not all ticks are the same. But it’s worth knowing that in the case of a tiny deer tick, which transmits the debilitating Lyme disease, it must be attached to its host for at least 48 hours to pass on the illness. One of the tell-tale signs of a deer-tick bite is a bull’s-eye-like bruise around the bite area.

Among the suggestions to avoid tick bites offered by the state Health Department:

- Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.

- Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirt into pants.

- Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors.

- Consider using insect repellent.

- Bath or shower as soon as possible after going indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.

- To remove a tick from skin, use tweezers to grab it close to the mouth, as close to the skin as possible, and gently and steadily pull it straight off without twisting. If you think it might be a deer tick, it’s a good idea to save it in some kind of container and show your doctor.

Some areas of Central New York are more tick-infested than others. Green Lakes State Park and the surrounding area, for example, with its unchecked and ever-growing deer population, is the local Ground Zero for Lyme disease.

Palumb pointed out that not only outdoorsmen and women (hunters and anglers) should be concerned. “I worry about gardeners, landscapers, golfers, picnickers and children playing outside,” he said.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog