As the temperatures continue to rise and the days grow longer, many rural Minnesotans start spending more time outdoors. Campers, hikers, hunters or those enjoying a bit of recreation time in a park or any wooded area are likely familiar with a small, eight legged creature that could cause a lot of trouble: ticks.
Morrison County itself is noted as a high-risk area for people contracting Lyme disease, and according to David Neitzel, an infectious disease epidemiology researcher with the Minnesota Department of Health, central Minnesota is unfortunately a hotbed for ticks in general.
The state is home to 12 species of ticks, but the ticks most interested in human blood, and most dangerous to humans, Neitzel said, are the blacklegged tick, formerly called the deer tick and the American dog tick, a standard wood tick.
Although dog ticks are usually just an unwelcome pest, they can carry diseases that transmit to humans such as the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Tularemia, although it is rare. This tick is widespread across the state and can inhabit wooded and prairie type areas, they are typically brown with cream colored markings, Neitzel said.
In central Minnesota in general the blacklegged tick numbers seem to be much higher than in other parts, he said.
The blacklegged tick is just 1/2 to 2/3 the size of its wood tick counterpart, and carries Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne disease.
Blacklegged ticks prefer woods and brushy habitat. If youre not walking around in the woods, youre not likely to come into contact with these ticks and the diseases that they transmit, he said.
Blacklegged ticks are not found in open areas as they are susceptible to dry weather and can die just by drying out, which is why they prefer the comfort of the damp leaves on the forest floor.
If we have some nice humid weather some ticks come out and they are ready to feed unfortunately, Neitzel said.
A difference in biology is also why a common wood tick doesnt spread Lyme disease. Neitzel said they can contract it when they are in early stages of life, but as they grow, the disease bacteria cant sustain itself in the body of a wood tick, however a blacklegged tick makes a perfect host.
Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, all those disease agents live in small animals like white footed mice, chipmunks and other common small mammals that we find across Minnesota. The ticks get infected with those disease agents when they feed on those small mammals, Neitzel said.
Ticks only feed once in each life stage, he said, so after hatching from an egg the larvae will find a small mammal to feed on, then as a nymph and an adult they may attach to a larger host like a white tail deer or a human, possibly spreading a disease. Adult female ticks need their largest meal at that stage so they can lay thousands of eggs and start the cycle over.
Tick season starts as soon as the snow melts and adult sightings will fade out by July, Neitzel said. Then a second wave of adults will come out during the fall, another time to be cautious in the woods.
More important though is the nymph stage, that intermediate stage. They come out from mid-May to mid-July theyre about a millimeter in length, pure black/brown color really hard to see unless youre looking closely for them. A lot of people never really know they are bitten by a tick and thats the riskiest life stage because theyre so hard to see, he said.
Because of their small size, Neitzel said he likes to tell people to take even more precaution when they stop seeing adult ticks and think the season is over. Since ticks are cold blooded, they move faster in warm weather and are able to crawl from an ankle to the top of a head in maybe 20 minutes, Neitzel said. However a tick can be found anywhere constricted and warm such as an armpit, back of the knee or near the belt-line.
A tick can be present on a host for up to five days, Neitzel said, and if someone finds an engorged tick on themselves, its likely there was time to transmit whatever disease it was carrying.
For Lyme disease a tick needs to be attached for one to two days before it transits the bacteria. So the quicker you check yourself for ticks and the quicker you can get them off of you, the better, he said.
Luckily, making a point to search for ticks after every trip to the woods can drastically decrease the chance of contracting Lyme disease. Since his position requires him to attract ticks, Neitzel doesnt use repellent, and has relied on the search and remove method for years.
A shower will unfortunately not kill a wood tick, Neitzel said. Ticks breathe through holes on the side of their body and need very little oxygen, so if theyre submerged, they simply close the holes and can hunker down for hours if needed.
So, if a person isnt looking to attract ticks, they may want to take some precautions.
Some basic recommendations are to wear long light pants and pull long socks over the top of them to spot ticks quickly, then Neitzel recommends a repellent with Deet or Permethrin.
A lot of people that live in central Minnesota say I live out in the woods. I cant put on repellent every time I go outside, thats just not practical. We agree that itd be hard to do all the time, but Permethrin-based repellents are really good in that you can take the pants that you wear when you do yard work and you can treat those pants with Permethrin and the repellent lasts for several weeks even through multiple washings, he said.
Neitzel also said assuredly that Permethrin, also a treatment for head lice, has a very low toxicity to humans and does not slough after its dry, so children and pets exposed wont be affected.
About 40% of adult blacklegged ticks carry Lyme disease and about 20% of nymph ticks carry the disease, but again because of their size more people are infected with Lyme disease during nymph peak season, Neitzel said.
If someone has been in a wooded area in the past month and develops any unexplained rash or rashes with fever, muscle aches, fatigue or similar symptoms, Neitzel recommends a trip to the doctor. The sooner a person knows the better, he said, so if a tick is found obviously remove it and watch the bite location. The saliva from the tick can be irritating so a little redness may occur but if it worsens or turns into that unmistakable bullseye, its time to go in.
Only 63% of Lyme disease cases showed presentation of bullseye according to MDH. In 2018, 950 confirmed Lyme disease cases were reported in Minnesota with an additional 591 probable cases that did not meet clinical criteria but showed laboratory evidence of infection.
The number of cases has been on a steady incline showing a median range of 913 cases from 2000 to 2008, increasing to 1,203 cases from 2009 to 2017.
Each year 400 to 600 cases of anaplasmosis, another disease transmitted by a blacklegged tick, are reported by MDH, and about a quarter of cases are hospitalized each year. Other more rare diseases spread by blacklegged ticks include: babesiosis, Powassan virus disease and ehrlichiosis.
You dont have to go very far to find a tick infected with one of these disease agents and quite often ticks will be carrying more than one, Neitzel said.
Often when people go out into nature, they bring along their dogs, who can also contract Lyme disease. Dr. Amanda Craft at Animal Haven Veterinary Clinic in Little Falls said they talk to clients every day about ticks, prevention and treatment options.
Just within the last five years, Craft said there has been a lot of advancement in preventative medicine for dogs. Most clinics offer topical or oral treatment and some can last up to 12 weeks.
The products you find through a veterinarian are much more effective, are better studied and they are a lot safer than over the counter products, she said.
A topical treatment works by repelling ticks and an oral product will kill the ticks once they bite the dog. There is also a preventative vaccine for Lyme disease, so Craft said if all precautions are taken, risk to a dog is pretty low.
Preventing ticks from attaching to dogs is also important as they can contract anaplasmosis.
A lot of times when I tell people their dog has Lyme disease or anaplasmosis theyll say they were familiar with it because theyve had it which I find really interesting. It just shows how prevalent it is, said Craft.
Symptoms of Lyme disease infection for dogs include: fever, limping, poor appetite, soreness or not seeming like themselves. The diseases are so prevalent that Craft tests for them each year when she runs the annual heartworm disease test.
The ones that come in that are really ill that we see and diagnose and treat are ones that have no protection sometimes if theyre covered by a vaccine they are seeing less symptoms, she said.
We see a lot less disease in dogs that are treated with preventative measures that people are aware of and they dont want their dogs to get sick, she said.
A dog with untreated Lyme disease can go into kidney failure, Craft said, so paying attention to pets and taking precautions is the best way to prevent them from becoming very ill. The diseases can be treated with a simple antibiotic but catching it early is key.
Animals are so good at hiding illness that sometimes theyre sick for a while and get to the point where treatment is not an option, she said.
As for cats or rabbits, Craft said there is a topical preventative, but there isnt a Lyme disease vaccine. She said those animals are more likely to become anemic from ticks than they are to contract a disease.
For all pets, the search and remove method along with any preventative treatments, is the best way to prevent tick-borne diseases.
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Outdoor enthusiasts reminded that tick season is in full swing - ECM Publishers