"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on."
Ulysses S. Grant (1822 - 1885)
Each year at about this time I begin my summer-long battle with ticks. They come in all sizes--from the almost microscopic larval ticks (that I have often confused with the equally obnoxious chiggers) to the thick grey slugs (about the size of a typical button) that drop from the hides of the pitifully-infested deer. I am generally a peaceable person, but I confess that I am continually striving to discover the best way to kill--or at least repel--ticks. And I am continually baffled in my endeavors.
This week, however, I have at least made a bit of progress at understanding the enemy. I finally decided to look closely at the battleground. I thought that if I could just see where ticks like to set their ambushes, I might be able to avoid them. As it happens, they do tend to be just where they are usually said to be--in grassy areas. But they don't like short grass and they don't seem to like thick blades of grass. The vast majority of the ticks I have observed so far have been at the very tops of the tiny, cylindrical seed stalks. They typically hang head-down with fore-polyps extended as widely as possible to each side of the seed-head, as in the picture above.
There is a certain evil intelligence in their behavior. If they were on the wide side of a blade of grass, their polyps wouldn't extend far enough to enable them to snag a ride on any unfortunate passer-by. And their anatomy doesn't enable them to cling to the narrow edge of a blade of grass--at least not with both fore-polyps extended for action.
I have seen a few ticks on stalks of lespedeza, but I may be guilty of having maligned that plant by considering it the primary haven for ticks and chiggers. It seems that lespedeza is a relatively innocent bystander, conscripted by those ticks that are unable to find suitable stalks of grass in their immediate environs.
Norman wants to find a nest of ticks, before they find him, sometime. I now carry a roll of tape (2" wide or so) and tear off a strip to make a loop I can put over my hand to dab them up as they start up my (always tucked into my socks) trousers. There are some areas (deer-infested!) where you can hit nest after nest of ticks....the tiniest size...and sticky tape hundreds in just a few touches of the tape. As you say, grass is the preferred waiting place though they seem to be able to even drop out of trees sometimes.
ReplyDeleteFight the good fight Jeff!, a fellow soldier!!