{"id":4076,"date":"2023-02-11T10:35:47","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T18:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/?p=4076"},"modified":"2023-02-11T10:35:47","modified_gmt":"2023-02-11T18:35:47","slug":"a-gross-side-effect-from-californias-extra-wet-winter-more-disease-carrying-ticks-this-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/2023\/02\/11\/a-gross-side-effect-from-californias-extra-wet-winter-more-disease-carrying-ticks-this-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"A gross side effect from California\u2019s extra wet winter: More disease-carrying ticks this spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northwest California remains a hot spot for ticks carrying disease, and tick season could be even worse this year after the state\u2019s extremely wet winter. In Southern California, the risk from ticks remains extremely low.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source of this article: The Los Angeles Times, February 11, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Western<\/a>

Western black-legged tick, Ixodes pacificus. From left: nymph, adult male, adult female.<\/p><\/div>\n

Woodland and beach regions known for tick activity across northwest California could be even more prone to the disease-carrying arachnids this year after the state\u2019s extremely wet winter, according to researchers who study ticks and Lyme disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe longer and more rain usually means ticks are out for longer,\u201d said Dan Salkeld, an ecologist at Colorado State University and a scientific advisor for the Bay Area Lyme Foundation. \u201cHaving a good rainy wet season is going to be good for ticks.\u201d<\/p>\n

And after one of the wettest few weeks on record this January, Salkeld said he expects ticks to be out in full force.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just like that moist climate,\u201d he said. \u201cHaving this longer wet season just means that there will be this longer window that ticks are abundant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ticks in Northern California typically come out after the first big rain in the fall \u2014 often around Halloween \u2014 and remain a problem for hikers and others enjoying the outdoors through late spring into early summer, Salkeld said. The western black-legged tick, the most common species in California, often carries diseases that can be transmitted to humans through a bite \u2014 especially Lyme disease.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Salkeld called much of northwest California a \u201chyper endemic\u201d area for Lyme disease. Sierra, Santa Cruz, Mendocino, Mariposa and Humboldt counties have the highest rates of Lyme in the state, according to the latest California Department of Health report on vector-borne disease. However, these levels are still below those of many areas on the East Coast.<\/p>\n

After a particularly wet year in 2017 in the Bay Area, the following spring saw elevated levels of ticks \u2014 which could also be the case next spring, Salkeld said. It takes about 18 months for the western black-legged tick to go through its life cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may well be next spring that ticks are really booming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In Southern California, the risk from ticks remains extremely low, Salkeld said, with the season much shorter due to the drier and warmer climate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are ticks in Southern California, but it seems they have a narrow window in time when they\u2019re an issue,\u201d he said \u2014 and the ticks are significantly less likely to carry disease.<\/p>\n

And though weather conditions may mean the risk for ticks is elevated, Salkeld said the chances of getting Lyme disease are still low. He doesn\u2019t want to dissuade people from going outside but encourages them to take precautions, stay on trails, use repellent and do tick checks after hikes or outdoor excursions.<\/p>\n

Ticks can\u2019t fly or jump, but they do \u201cquest,\u201d hanging out on the ends of grasses or branches to try to grab on to a passerby.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you do get bitten, remove the tick as fast as you can,\u201d Salkeld said. \u201cEven if you\u2019re in Southern California, it just diminishes the chance of any pathogen spread.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Northwest California remains a hot spot for ticks carrying disease, and tick season could be even worse this year after the state\u2019s extremely wet winter. In Southern California, the risk from ticks remains extremely low. Source of this article: The Los Angeles Times, February 11, 2023 Woodland and beach regions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,20,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california","category-health","category-trail-hazard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4076"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4079,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4076\/revisions\/4079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}