Editor’s note: This is the final part of a three-part series about tick identification, disease and encounter prevention.  

REGION — Although there is little that can be done to control tick populations in the tall grass, shrubs and leaf litter of non-residential areas, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the number of ticks in residential locations. The proactive approach is called Integrated Tick Management.

Deer ticks, also known as black-legged ticks, are known for carrying the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, and Powassan virus. Griffin Dill, Cooperative Extension

According to Chuck Lubelczyk, an ecologist with Maine Medical Center Research Institute’s Vector Borne–Disease Laboratory in Scarborough, landscape management begins with two simple steps: self–protection and eradicating tick habitat.

Deer ticks tend to like forested habitats with a lot of shady canopy and dense brush which prevents ticks from dying out and desiccating from sun and wind exposure, he said.

Deer ticks are responsible for several serious tick–borne diseases including Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, and Powassan virus.

Dog ticks, which are a common nuisance but not a vector of disease in Maine, like open and dry habitats, he said.

“Deer ticks are not out in the middle of your mowed lawn,” said Lubelczyk. “They live and thrive where yards border wooded areas, in gardens and other areas that provide shade and moisture.”

Deer ticks depend on damp and humid conditions to survive, he said. A wet spring is imperative to the life cycle of the tick. Contrary to popular belief, ticks do not die in the winter. They can survive bitter cold winters by insulating themselves in a bed of leaf litter, which rarely reaches temperatures cold enough to harm them, particularly under a blanket of snow.

Removing leaf litter, brush and landscaping is the first step in controlling deer tick populations at home, he said.

Creating a three–foot–wide buffer of stone or wood chips between lawns and tick–friendly areas also serves as a reminder of where deer ticks are and likely are not.

The institute also recommends:

• moving children’s play areas away from yard edges and trees.

• mowing the lawn frequently and keeping leaves raked.

• completely eradicating invasive vegetation, particularly Japanese barberry, honeysuckle and bittersweet, which provide excellent deer tick habitat.

• deter rodent and deer habitat.

Over-the-counter tick-killing pesticides, known as acaricides can be used to treat small areas but lower concentrations of active ingredients and inadequate penetration force limits effectiveness. A professional pest control company can apply an effective acaricide with sufficient force to reach ticks burrowed deep in leaf litter.

Tick management using predators as a biological control is a relatively new concept and is primarily in its research phase, said Entomologist Griffin Dill, who operates the UMaine Extension “Tick Lab” at the University of Maine in Orono.

“Guinea fowl and chickens are commonly thought to be effective in controlling ticks, though research indicates that their tick consumption is minimal,” he said.

In addition, predators often become tick hosts themselves as they wander around a property.

“The best defense is dressing appropriately in the field,” he said. “Light–colored fabric, pants and long sleeve shirts are a good idea. Not because ticks don’t like light colors but they show up better on light–colored clothing.”