Red Sox score ten runs in the ninth and Stella the dog picks up 24 ticks in one half hour walk! Never done before! Watch out for the tall grass!
Yesterday Stella, Evie and I do a four mile hike in Dogtown, over Pigeon Hill and back. Zero ticks. That is because we stayed out of the grass. Today we did a much shorter hike less than a mile but it was on the Atlantic Path along the shore with tall grass overgrown on the path. These ticks do not have super powers. They do not leap on you. But this time of year they crawl to the top of the blade of grass and hold their front legs out waiting for you to walk by.
If you walk through grass, check yourself as soon as you get back. No big deal if they are still walking around looking for a place to attach. But the sooner you get them the better. Powassan virus is rare but now present in ticks in this area. They are bad news and can transmit the virus far more quickly than Lyme.
ps. If you want a vaccine please advocate for full funding of NIH.
Good Morning Gloucester 
Yes, staying off of the grass is key! After two of us getting Lyme last fall and our pup getting anaplasmosis and ehrlichia, we do not even let our pup on our nice big lawn. Not worth the trouble. Maybe we will treat for ticks next year, but for now we are loaded up with bottles of organic Tic ‘M Off (sp?) we got at Conley’s Pharmacy. Not cheap but It’sā the only thing that keeps the ticks (and flying insects!) off of us. Label says developed by a Newburyport Dr who saw too many people suffering from Lyme disease.
ALSO we sprinkle (careful to not inhale if you have breathing issues or get in eyes) food grade diatomaceous earth in our pup’s beds and anywhere else she sits. It is safe for us + pets but not ticks etc. That way they do not crawl off of her and onto us! They never make it out alive. š
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Are you giving you down Frontline or something similar? We live in a high risk area so it’s a must.
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Absolutely. Frontline on the pooch and DEET on the humans.
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Paul,
This is an excellent post they have compressed air on a lot of the trail-bases here and some kind of repellent (Have to see what the combination is before using that! š Dave
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