In all my years of gardening, I’d never had a tick.
Until just recently, when I found one on my ear. Yikes! My chickens are apparently not doing their job eating the tiny varmints.
Jody Green, urban entomologist and extension educator for the Nebraska Extension, said you don’t have to be walking in the woods or in the countryside to get a tick, as I’d always assumed. Ticks are present where they have hosts and favorable environments, she said.
“So, if your garden is located where wildlife is free to enter/cohabitate (and this includes mice, rabbits, raccoons, skunks, birds, reptiles, amphibians, dogs, cats, deer, humans, etc.), ticks will be present,” she said. “We’ve been educating several parents after ticks were found and removed from their child who simply ‘go out for recess’ each day. Others have picked them up on school field trips or at local parks. Wooded areas will still have ticks, but basically, anywhere ticks have the necessities for life — food, moisture, shelter, they will be able to find a mate, reproduce, and continue to develop populations.”
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Plants that attract deer and other wildlife that are hosts to ticks are plants that would be associated with tick activity. So, fruit and nut trees, some bulbs, shrubs and places with bird seed readily available may be yards that have more ticks.
Nebraska is home to many species of ticks, which are present at different times of the year.
Blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks) are usually found as adults between October to April. American dog ticks (also called wood ticks) and lone star ticks have been consistently reported early April through September. American dog tick adults are often recovered from people and one of the hot spots is the scalp.
Lone star ticks are persistent and plentiful and can be found in all stages, including the tiny larval and nymph stage. It’s important to keep the tick after it’s removed to be identified, so don’t smash, flush or throw them away.
Tick issues are always worse in the spring, and Nebraska Extension has received lots of reports from the public. This year, many more groups (teachers, camp counselors, etc.) are requesting tick education, Green said.
“This may not be due to the increase in tick population but can be associated with many things, including environmental conditions that make it more favorable for ticks to exist and find hosts. Maybe there are more dogs being walked or students on field trips, urbanization may have decreased areas where wildlife live, causing wildlife to disperse and come into suburban areas,” she said. “Climate change can also increase the activity levels of ticks where they are active all year around. Ticks can be active anytime temperatures are above freezing and there is no snow on the ground.”
Green said it’s not necessarily the wet spring we’ve been experiencing this year.
Although, mosquitoes are already bad because of the rainy spring, she said. Dump any standing water to prevent them from having a place for egg laying and development in those artificial aquatic environments like tires, flowerpots, bird baths and pet water bowls.
More moisture during the winter would allow more ticks to overwinter and more precipitation promotes healthier, denser vegetation where ticks seek shelter and use to find hosts through questing.
Questing is when a tick will position itself on a blade of grass or other, low-growing vegetation at host-height with legs outstretched waiting for a host to walk by and brush up against tiny claws on the tips of each foot.
Precipitation also helps the survival of other organisms and therefore other wildlife in the food chain, many of which can be hosts for ticks.
There are things you can do as a gardener to protect yourself, Green said.
» Trim back weeds and lawn so there are less harborage/hiding areas for wildlife.
» Install or build hardscapes like rock, mulch or paved pathways to walk on to get to and from your garden area. This goes for playground areas as well.
» Minimize the places where ticks will quest or fall off of wildlife. If you have a lot of wildlife nearby, make sure to use the hardware to exclude them so they don’t nest under your porch, deck or shed.
» Wear light colored clothing to make it easier to see any ticks that may find you, tuck pant legs into socks and tuck shirts into pants so there isn’t an easy path from the ground, to humans and then a feeding site.
» Wear repellents approved by the Environmental Protection Agency such as DEET (at least 20% recommended) or wear permethrin-treated clothing and shoes.
» Perform tick checks after outside activity and shower within 2 hours of coming in from outdoors.
» Put outdoor clothes in the clothes dryer on high heat for 20 minutes. Do this before putting it in the washing machine or hamper.
» Protect your pets by keeping up with tick treatments by recommendations from the veterinarian.
» Perform tick checks before pets get into the vehicle or into the house after being outdoors.
» Remove ticks from your pets so they don’t hitchhike home and find a person (this happens when people sleep with their pets).
Always have a pointy set of tweezers for safe removal of ticks, and a zip top bag to store them in. Also, get a sticky lint roller or duct tape if you need to remove a lot of ticks at a time.
Keep ticks for identification (the extension office can identify the species, but doesn’t test ticks). If someone develops a fever, rash or other symptoms, knowing that the person was bitten by a tick and which species could aid in a quick diagnosis and treatment.
Statewide Arboretum holding plant sales
The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum is hosting several plant sales in June. Here’s a list:
» June 15, native plant sale, 9 a.m. to noon, Camp Brewster at Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, 1313 Bellevue Blvd. North.
» June 15, pollinator party and mini plant sale celebrating Nebraska Pollinator Week, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Schramm Education Center, 21502 West Highway 31, Gretna.
» June 21 and 28, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Greenhouses on UNL’s East Campus, 2150 N. 38th St., Lincoln.
Members of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum receive a 15% discount at all spring plant sales. For more information about the spring plant sales, visit plantnebraska.org/plantsales.
Do you have a favorite plant business?
Do you have a favorite business where you order flowers that you might not find in area nurseries? I have to give a shoutout to Darwin Perennials.
On the box of a recent delivery from Darwin, I noticed it said perennials with staying power.
Boy, is that ever true. Anything I’ve planted from them has come back the next spring and looked amazing. Which is saying a lot, since I hate to admit I’ll plant things and forget all about them, especially when it comes to watering.
I would love to know if you have a favorite, too.
Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of May 2024
Sharlyn Davis, 66, helps her father, Orie Staab, 90, both of Omaha, to vote early, ahead of next week’s primary, at the Douglas County Election Commission office at 12220 West Center Road on Tuesday.
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Runners head west on Farnam Street during the Berkshire Hathaway “Invest in Yourself” 5K in Omaha on Sunday, May 5, 2024.
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A runner goes south on 14th Street during the Berkshire Hathaway “Invest in Yourself” 5K in Omaha on Sunday, May 5, 2024. The race closed several streets in downtown Omaha.
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Runners head west on Farnam Street during the Berkshire Hathaway “Invest in Yourself” 5K in Omaha on Sunday, May 5, 2024.
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Danielle Herzog sits for a portrait with book “Where are you, Lou?” at her Omaha home on Thursday, May 2, 2024.
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A participant carries an inflatable dolphin in the Berkshire Hathaway “Invest in Yourself” 5K in Omaha on Sunday, May 5, 2024. The dolphin was for members of the Disney Dolphin Run Club from Disney Elementary School to be able to find an adult they trust if needed in the race.
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Runners start the Berkshire Hathaway “Invest in Yourself” 5K in Omaha on Sunday, May 5, 2024.
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Nebraska’s Rebekah Allick (5) and Nebraska’s Bergen Reilly (2) go up for a block in the first set the Nebraska volleyball spring match vs. Denver at the University of Nebraska at Kearney on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
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Fans watch the first set the Nebraska volleyball spring match vs. Denver at the University of Nebraska at Kearney on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
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People run to the arena after being let in for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
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People line up on the skywalk from the Hilton Hotel for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
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People line up for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
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People run to the arena after being let in for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
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Omaha police block off the intersection of 22nd and O Streets as they investigate a shooting in Omaha on Sunday, May 12, 2024. One victim was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to police.
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Laurie Jones of Des Moines holds a sign as she and demonstrators gather across from the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting at the CHI Health Center to protest MidAmerican Energy’s coal energy in Omaha on Saturday, May 4, 2024. MidAmerican Energy is owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
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Students and community members gather outside the University of Nebraska Union in Lincoln on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
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Warren Buffett talks with Katie Farmer, president and CEO of BNSF Railway, at the BNSF booth during the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Shopping Day at CHI Health Center in Omaha on Friday, May 3, 2024.
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Sophia Phillips, 14, of Omaha, tries on a cowboy hat during the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Shopping Day at CHI Health Center in Omaha on Friday, May 3, 2024.
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Father Daniel Hendrickson, Creighton University President, points out the view from the chapel in the JŽr™me Nadal, SJ, Jesuit Residence at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday, May 2, 2024.
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Omaha Duchesne’s Izzy Johnson (0) goes up for a save during the second half of an Class B semifinal girls state soccer tournament match against Omaha Duchesne, at Morrison Stadium in Omaha on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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Workers clear water off of the track after a thunderstorm left the area with standing water at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
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Workers clear water off of the track after a thunderstorm left the track with standing water at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
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A downpour hits the track as a severe storm warning halts the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
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A downpour hits the track as a severe storm warning halts the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
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Fans and athletes seek cover as a severe thunderstorm warning hits the area at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
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Lincoln High’s Brynn Tlamka prepares to compete in the Class A pole vault at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
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Wahoo’s Jake Scanlon competes in the finals of the Class B shot put at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
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Gering’s Creighton Beals crosses the finish line as Boys Town’s Isaah Poteet-Brown falls on a hurdle in the Class B 300 meter hurdles at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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Milford’s Isaac Roth falls during the in the Class B 300 meter hurdles at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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Auburn’s Addison Darnell, left, hugs Sidney’s Chloe Ahrens after they ran in the Class B 300 hurdles at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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From left: Seward’s Kelsey Miller Auburn’s Addison Darnell, Sidney’s Chloe Ahrens compete in the Class B 300 hurdles at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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From left: Lincoln Southwest’s Jackson Mowitz, Kearney’s Zaire LaGrone-Miller, and Bellevue West’s Asher Jenkins, compete in the Class A s00 meter dash at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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From left: Kearney’s Zaire LaGrone-Miller, Bellevue West’s Asher Jenkins, Omaha Westside’s Preston Okafor compete in the Class A 100 meter dash at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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Elkhorn South’s Zander Carson-Koestner stumbles at the start of the the Class A 800 meter run at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024. The race was restarted.
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Sidney’s Chloe Ahrens celebrates her win in the Class B 100 meter hurdles at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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Holdrege’s Rylan Landin competes in the Class B pole vault at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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Millard West’s Kate Hessel competes in the Class A high jump at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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Papillion-La Vista South’s Zaidah Lightener competes in the Class A triple jump at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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A large whole appeared in Center Street near 67th Street after a break in a 24-inch transmission water main inOmaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. MUD says ” preliminary information indicates it was related to the excess rainfall and flooding.”
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An early-morning storm knock tree branches onto the Pacific Street sign on 42nd Street in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
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The sign for Amateur Coffee located at 3913 Cuming St., is reflected in water on the floor. The shop was closed due to flooding after heavy rains in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
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Water pours out of a parking lot onto the ground near 46th and Farnam Streets in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
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An Omaha police officer and an employee of nearby Dingman’s Collision Center push a car that had been caught in flood waters out of Saddle Creek Road north of 50th Street in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
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Members of the grounds crew spread dirt on the right field line trying to make the field playable again after heavy rains delayed the Big Ten baseball tournament at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
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Dark clouds portend the storm approaching that delayed the Big Ten baseball tournament at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
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