Missouri’s climate fosters ideal conditions for booming tick populations
Whether you're taking your dog for a walk through the trails or going out for a nice fishing trip, Mid-Missourians are more than likely running into ticks.
"During the spring and summer months, it's not that they're out more, it's that people are outdoors more," said Deb Hubman, who is a wildlife health program supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation.
She described how weather can impact tick populations and activity.
"I always say Missouri is sort of the the Goldilocks state, it's not too hot, not too cold, has good humidity, so it's actually really good for ticks, also lots of forests and lots of wildlife to act as hosts. Missouri has a ridiculous amount of ticks and uh they do quite well here," Hubman said.
The common theme for poor tick populations in an area is dependent on ground vegetation, but on some years drought conditions can cause a rapid decline in populations. Deb Hudman explains more in depth, "So desiccation is the number one enemy for ticks. So if it's hot and dry and they can't get any humidity or moisture, that that will kill ticks."
Extreme cold and harsh winters do not cause too much of a change in tick populations, but for ticks in their younger life stages, there can be some decline during this time.
"So in the winter, you can also think of it as, like if there's small larvae or nymphs, so again the baby or the teenager of the tick world, if they have a harder time maybe in the colder weather if there's not substantial leaf litter as well," Hubman said.
During the spring and summer months, rainy days can also act as a plus for those who have to spend time outdoors.
"When it's raining like a day today, typically if you walk through the woods, you're not gonna pick up as many because they're not as active and plus it's harder for them to get a hold of you. So people don't tend to get as many because we're not as out as much either when it's raining," Hubman said.
This spring, Mid-Missourians are going to want to make sure to have a way to prevent ticks from biting them by having some sort of protective sprays.
