Deb Hudman with the Missouri Department of Conservation is standing in a large field behind the office where she works.
It’s about 8 a.m., but the sun is already beating down on her as she drags a tick flag — basically a large sheet of flannel — along the flat, grass-covered ground behind her.
“Ticks' number one enemy is desiccation,” Hudman said. “And so, if they're out in an area like this –“
“It provides a lot of cover, but it also gets a lot more heat. So, if in their shaded area they tend to do better.”
Desiccation is essentially when a living thing dehydrates to death, and because ticks have such tiny bodies, the heat presents more of a risk than cold temperatures. Hudman said the leaf cover on the ground during colder months provides enough warmth for the ticks to survive.
“They just hunker down for the winter," Hudman said. "They do quite well in the cold. They can even survive under water for some time.”
Hudman said Missouri is a utopia for ticks; it’s not too hot, it’s not too cold and the humidity is just right. And Hudman should know.
She recently conducted a two-year Missouri Ticks and Tick-borne Pathogen Surveillance Research study starting in 2021. People from across the state mailed her the ticks they found on themselves, their pets and in their homes.
Source: stlpublicradio.org
Photo Credit: gettyimages-erikkarits
Categories: Missouri, Rural Lifestyle, Weather