Ticks, Lyme's Disease, and how to avoid 'em

Mornin' readers. This is the Wiscampsin Weekly - the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less. New reader? Subscribe here.

Bug out over this:

• Ticks and Lyme's Disease 🕷

• Muskie fishing opener 🎣 

• Great Lake water levels 🚤 

Ticks and Lyme's Disease: Public enemy #1

Ya know, it's no secret that us outdoorsy folk lack a certain sense of style when out-and-about in the great outdoors.

Long sleeves tucked into pants. Pants tucked into some tube socks our great-great-great uncle left behind after choking on that infamous cheese curd. Laced up hiking boots.

Long-story short - it's not a sexy look. But boy, is it effective.

Ya see, the reason we hike around Wisconsin completely tucked in and #nerded out is because we have a bit of a tick/Lyme's disease problem, and it's crucial to protect ourselves.

The pick on ticks

• Ticks are most active April through September

• They live all over the state in forests, long grasses and on animals

• Over 3,000 cases of Lyme's Disease are reported each year in WI, with ~10x more unreported

Ticks - a real pain in the keister

Most folks think the mosquito is the most problematic critter in Wisconsin, but oh no; it's the creepy, crawly ticks.

Like the fanbase of the Minnesota Vikings, ticks start off as little eggs and move through larva and nymph stages before adulthood is reached. Unlike our 'skeeters, which live about ten days, the tick's lifecycle can last up to three years.

During this time, they'll have three blood meals, feeding on small mammals, birds and deer, which sustains their growth. What is this, Twilight?

After the third meal, the adult tick is ready to lay up to 4,000 eggs, and then the cycle starts all over again.

If you've ever seen a tick, you'll notice that they move pretty darn slow, can't jump, and certainly don't fly. They find a host by clinging to tall grass or leaves and waiting for something - or someone - to brush into them.

Lyme's Disease

We like a little lime in our Corona's, sure, but Lyme's Disease is something to be avoided at all cost.

It starts off as a fever, headache, fatigue, or skin rash. However, if left untreated, it can affect your joints, heart, spinal cord, and nervous system. Yea, we'll take the mosquito bite any day...

The culprits are three types of ticks throughout the state: The deer (black-legged) tick, the wood (dog) tick, and the lone-star tick.

Researchers at UW estimate that upwards of 40% of adult deer ticks currently carry the microorganism that causes the disease. Alas, they spread the most disease in the state.

It takes about 48 - 72+ hours to transmit Lyme's Disease from attachment, which is why daily checks are so important (see below).

Currently, more than 3,000 cases are reported each year, but that number is on the rise.

Why? Climate crisis.

Since ticks are most active during the warmer months, and winter is becoming shorter and shorter each year, ticks are coming out to, erm, play, earlier in the season.

Which gives them more time to crawl into your cracks.

Avoiding ticks and their licks

The name of the game is prevention. So as un-sexy as the tucked in look is, it may save you from contracting Lyme's Disease or any other calamity.

Before going out for that hike at Devil's Lake:

• Wear long sleeves, long pants, long socks and laced hiking boots while walking, and tuck 'em in!

• Use light-colored clothing so you can see the buggers easier

While on the hike:

• Spray on a healthy dose of insect repellent - they hate that stuff

• Avoid walking through bushes and tall grass

• Sacrifice Sarah if a tick is found - she's from Chicago

After the hike (before you crack into a Spotted Cow):

• Perform the ritual of so many 'Scon families - the Tick Check

  • First, queue up Brad Paisley's song 'Tick'

  • Then, check every crevice - ticks are apt to be in your darkest places. Yikes

  • If you're game, have a friend help you. Now that's friendship

• Take a hot shower after to wash away any lingering ticks

• Tumble dry your clothes on high heat for 10 minutes to kill anything hiding in your garments

If you do find a tick:

• Remove it immediately with a tweezers ("not my eyebrow tweezers!")

• Report it on the Tick App to help Wisconsin researchers

• DO NOT listen to your Uncle John and burn it off with a match - it may regurgitate it's disease-filled guts into you

Well folks, hope we didn't scare ya from your trip up to Rock Island or any other outdoor pursuit. With daily tick checks, the risk of ticks are easily managed.

So tuck those pant legs in and get out 'der!

Nuts 'n' Seeds 🌰 

🐠 69 pounds, 11 ounces: No, that's not how much cheese we ate last night. That's the world-record muskie, caught out of the Chippewa Flowage. Now it's your turn. The season opener starts May 28th. Get out your tackle box!

🦌 Elk jerky: Step aside, whitetail deer, the DNR has a new favorite toy. They've set the harvest limit to eight bulls for the upcoming hunt, as they aim to maintain a minimum of 40 bulls for every 100 cows and grow the population of bulls over the next four years.

🛥 We're taking in water: The US Army Corps of Engineers say that Great Lake water levels will be higher than average this year (minus Lake Superior), which could cause some trouble for shorelines due to erosion.

See you next week!

A Review from the Trail...

Well, how'd we do this week?

• 🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀 What a wall-mounter! Hook, line and sinker!

• 🧀🧀🧀 A good eater, nothing too fancy.

• 🧀 Shucks, got skunked!