Abnormal abundance of ticks

Observation by Andrea Sare:

I work for an engineering consulting firm in the Environmental Department. Recently, on June 8th & June 9th, 2021 my two colleagues were collecting groundwater monitoring well samples at the Scott Road landfill site in southern Ontario (near Cardinal, Ontario), as part of an annual sampling event that has been occurring for the last 15 years. Based on current and historical data, ticks are common in this area (Government of Canada, 2017); however, during this one particular sampling event, both colleagues were covered each day with multiple ticks (approximately 12-15 on each person). My one colleague who has been doing this work for over 35 years indicated that he has never experienced that many ticks at one time, in one place, in his career. I wanted to report this occurrence to the LEO Network due to the anomalous nature of this incident.

Comments by LEO Editors:

An article published by CTV News London ("What's Making Southern Ontario Tick?") in July of 2021, attributes the increase in population to the warming climate and migratory birds. Jeremy Hogeveen, a local Vector Borne Disease health coordinator mentions that the climate of Southern Ontario is shifting to longer warm seasons and shorter cold seasons.

Climate is a dominating factor in the tick life cycle and population density. In the spring, engorged females can lay upwards of 1,000 eggs which hatch by summer. They larva molt and grow several times before becoming adults and reproduce in the fall. If the offspring are lucky in finding hosts throughout their life and if temperatures don't drop enough to kill them, tick populations can grow quickly. Because of the global climate warming, bird migration patterns are also changing. Areas that were once too cold for the migratory birds are now becoming more suitable; this not only increases size but scope of tick species as birds are common hosts of ticks.

Common tick species in present in Ontario include deer ticks, American dog ticks, brown dog ticks, and lone star ticks. Unfortunately, this poses a human health threat as these species carry and spread diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Ehrlichiosis, Heartland virus, Tularemia, Lyme's Disease, and more (CDC). To protect yourself, make sure to wear outdoor clothing that covers and overlaps to prevent contact, wear tick repellent and diligently check yourself, your friends and your pets often when enjoying the outdoors. Keeping your grass and foliage trimmed is also a good preventative measure.

For more information on tick population and density of Lyme's Disease, read the Ontario Lyme Disease Map of 2020. For more information on precise historical Canadian Temperature and climate date, see https://climate.weather.gc.ca/. Chyna Williams