Mornin' to everyone worried about illegal manure spreading in Wisconsin (and how AI and satellites are catching the poop-etrators). 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.

This week’s weekly:

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

• New bag limit for walleye 🐟

• Wildlife stamp contest 🖼️

Tick season kicks off early in WI

Really? Ticks already? But it’s not even officially spring yet!

We WISH we were writing about late winter ice fishing or something cool (literally), but alas, tick season has arrived.

Normally showing their ugly faces in April, the ticks are active once again due to no snow cover and 40+ degree temps.

Indeed, last week the CDC reported 30 ER visits for tick bites per 100,000—5x as much as last year at this time!

The pick on ticks

• Ticks are typically active April - September, but this year is earlier

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

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

Ticks: a real pain in the keister

Like the Minnesota Vikings fanbase, ticks hatch from eggs and move through larva and nymph stages before adulthood is reached.

Unlike '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. What’s on the menu? Small mammals, birds and deer.

Then, the adult is ready to lay up to 4,000 eggs.

If you've ever seen a tick, you'll notice that they move pretty darn slow, can't jump, and (thankfully) don't fly.

So they do what your ex-boyfriend used to do: Cling.

Tall grass, leaves, bushes—they’ll cling until something (or someone) brushes by.

Lyme Disease

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

It starts off as a fever, headache, fatigue, or skin rash.

If left untreated, it can affect your joints, heart, spinal cord, and nervous system.

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

Rebecca Osborn, vectorborne disease epidemiologist at DHS, says 50% of adult deer ticks carry the organism that causes Lyme Disease.

But it’s the smaller ones you have to look out for.

Only 20% of nymphs can give you Lyme, but since they’re small enough to go unnoticed, they are responsible for most cases.

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

Currently, more than 3,000 cases are reported each year, though many are not reported.

So what about this year? Experts don’t think there will be more ticks, and it’s unclear if there will be more Lyme Disease cases.

Avoiding ticks and their licks

The name of the game is prevention. So as un-sexy as the tucked-in look is, it could save you from contracting Lyme Disease.

Before gettin’ out der:

• 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 out ‘der:

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

• Avoid walking through bushes and tall grass

After gettin’ out der:

• Perform the ritual of so many 'Scons: 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

And if you do find one?

• Remove it immediately with a 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 its disease-filled guts into you

Now get out 'der!

Other great Wiscampsin reads…

Mosquitoes: Wisconsin's State Bird

Wisconsin: Maple Syrup Sanctuary

Wisconsin's Pollinators

Shop Wiscampsin

Wisconsin State Bird Art Print: “Very nicely made, great colors and design. It looks amazing in my home. Keep it up Wiscampsin ❤️” - Peggy

Wiscampsin Badgers Tee: “It’s the perfect t-shirt to show off my love for camping and Wisconsin at the same time :)” - Emily

Wiscampsin Recycled License Plate Frame: “Love it! Get out der! Makes my Mazda look even better” - Alex

Wiscampsin Mug: “Awesome mug, very lightweight, the mug doesn't get piping hot if you need to microwave your coffee either.” - Matthew

Wiscampsin Weekly Poll

Well folks 48% of you said you have caught a Walleye before - and yet none of you have invited us over for a Fish Fry yet, interesting…

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

🦆 Call for stamp entries! The 2025 Turkey, Pheasant, and Waterfowl Stamp Contest is about to take flight, and the DNR is accepting artwork submissions. The winner’s design will be used on 2025 stamps required to hunt the three aforementioned birds, a system that brings in hundreds of thousands of $$$ for conservation.

🔥 Honey, don’t burn the brush pile!: The DNR is asking folks not to do their yard work and burn brush, as the wildfire risk is high this week. Our abnormally dry winter conditions, mixed with strong winds and warmer temps, makes for perfect wildfire conditions. So far this year has seen 201 wildfires, burning roughly 383 acres across the state. See more about the warning here.

🐟 New bag limit for Walleye: Uh oh, Dad’s not gonna be happy. The DNR has changed the daily bag limit for Walleye on inland waters from 5 fish to 3. Why? Walleye, which are the most favored fish by anglers, have faced increased pressure and reproduction challenges as of late. Plus, some areas in the state already have a 3 bag limit, so this simplifies things a bit. Outlying waters like the Mississippi and Lake Michigan will remain at 5.

 Sponsored by our NEW Recycled Cow Manure Coffee Mugs!

Just kidding! Although there are probably some diehard ‘Scons out there that would dig that…

Looking for a totally cool and sustainable coffee mug and a way to support Wiscampsin? Check out our Recycled Coffee Bean Coffee Mugs!!

The Wiscampsin shop has some other goodies too, like our recycled license plate frames, our new shirts… Everything we make, we source as sustainably as possible to keep our green spaces all the greener.

*And as always, 1% of profits will go to the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks.

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