TRURO - People are wise to be wary of any ticks they encounter in the wild but there are no current concerns about the Lyme disease-carrying variety in Colchester County, an official says.
While dog ticks could be "thick as thieves" in some parts of the county, there is no evidence that the blacklegged tick, or deer tick as it has commonly been known, has established itself locally, said Department of Natural Resources (DNR) entomologist Jeff Ogden.
While the DNR has received submissions of the blacklegged ticks from within Colchester County, drag samples that were conducted did not produce evidence that they were actually established here.
"There is no hard evidence that there's any establishment in Cumberland or Colchester counties," Ogden said.
Blacklegged ticks are carried into an area by migratory birds and every time a bird lands there is potential of a tick falling off it, he said. "And then there is a potential of you or your pet or somebody picking up that tick. It's when we start getting multiple submissions of these ticks – you send in three, your neighbour sends in four – that's an indication that there's more than one bird dropping off a couple of ticks."
Dog ticks, which are slightly larger and coloured differently (see fast facts), are generally carried by mammals, such as dogs or humans. And while as many as 11 different tick species may exist in the area, Ogden said only the blacklegged tick offers threat of disease in Nova Scotia.
Ogden said the "thick-as-thieves" dog ticks were introduced into the Yarmouth area by hunting dogs at the turn of the last century and now can be found all over the western end of the province, as far north as Truro, south to the Shubenacadie area and to the east as far as Musquodoboit Valley.
And should you find a tick on yourself or a pet, Ogden said, get it checked out unless you are absolutely sure of what it is.
"Don't flush the tick. We want to know what the tick is (unless it is very obviously a dog tick), he said. "But if there is any question in your mind, take it into your local DNR office."
Fast facts:
How to identify deer ticks vs dog ticks:
– Adult dog ticks measure three to seven milimetres.
– The dog tick is reddish brown in colour with a white pattern on the dorsal (upper) surface. "You can't miss that," DNR entomologist Jeff Ogden said.
– Blacklegged (or deer) ticks are smaller.
– Blacklegged males no bigger than two millimetres, while females grow up to five millimetres.
– Blacklegged females have a bright red abdomen. "Their butt is bright red," Ogden says. "No white on them at all."
