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How to respond with care, not hysteria.
Dear Reader,
Dot spends considerable time in New England, a region of the country that is Ground Zero for the tick explosion. It is routine to do a tick check on our bodies and our pets after being outdoors. And it is increasingly common to see “alpha gal friendly” items on restaurant menus (alpha gal syndrome is spread by the increasingly prevalent Lone Star tick, whose bite causes some sufferers to develop an allergy to red meat and dairy products — that can last days or weeks to years).
So the Dot family pays close attention to what tick experts recommend using to discourage ticks in our yards and, more specifically, to avoid ticks on our bodies. This summer, however, vigilance is bordering on hysteria, thanks to stories in major media outlets and social media.
Dot’s boss, Victoria Riskin, recently interviewed a Martha’s Vineyard tick expert and reported that “When I sat down with Virginia Barbatti, the executive director of Tick Free MV, I was impressed by her clarity, her reliance on data, and her deep commitment to community process. This is a story not about panic, but about stewardship of land and wildlife, and local leadership.”
Stewardship is a crucial piece of this issue and it’s one that, Dot believes, is swept aside in our tick-phobia. Case in point: Rental agents on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are reporting that potential renters are asking if properties have been sprayed to kill ticks. (Dot is currently researching a reader question about the potential benefits vs. harms of spraying for ticks. Stay tuned.)
Dot absolutely understands (and shares!) the widespread concern about ticks. They can spread diseases that are, literally, lethal. But let’s personally respond with care, while we hope our public officials similarly respond with care. Take precautions (Dot shares plenty of good advice here). And cross your fingers for an effective vaccine — there’s a promising one for Lyme disease.
But, as the New York Times reminds us, consider what we can learn: “Much as we might despise or fear them, ticks have something to teach us, too. Their abundance signals a broken equilibrium, an ecological rupture. Through our land-use choices, our settlement patterns, our heating of the planet, we have pushed ecosystems — from our backyards to almost the entire eastern half of the United States — way out of balance. And now it’s literally coming back to bite us.”
Avoidantly,
Dot
The Environmental Working Group rates air fresheners, but making your own non-toxic version is a cinch (and far cheaper).
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