Once a lake becomes infested with these parasites that cause swimmer’s itch, outbreaks can last anywhere from one week to an entire season with few indications to predict the length of risk. "The most important thing is to watch out for anything that looks like an infection, such as redness in the area, especially redness that begins branching out from the bite site," said Reinhold.]įlatworm parasites exist all over the world, but in North America their concentration is highest in the northern Lower Peninsula due to an abundance of clean lakes and presence of both water fowl and snails who each play host to the worms at different stages of development. Pharmacist Eric Reinhold has practiced in northwest Michigan for more than 15 years and he recommends washing an area where a tick has embedded with soap and water. "You should really check everyone over each time they come inside," said Litney. Like Lyme disease, ehrlichisosis primarily affects humans and canines, but can also infect cats.Įxperts agree that the best prevention is to check regularly for ticks. Though these ticks tend to be disease-free, they can carry ehrlichiosis, a term that encompasses multiple varieties of the potentially life threatening bacterial disease. The lonestar tick and dog tick have also been widely successful in our region.
Susan Little cautioned that peak occurrences happen in the fall and adult black-legged ticks are still active in the cooler months. So far in 2015, reported cases are at 1.42 percent prevalence or one out of every 81 dogs tested.Īlthough breeding explodes in the spring, CAPC member Dr. With the warmer temperatures beginning earlier in the spring, rodents that play host to ticks are active earlier as well."ĬAPC parasitologists forecast a 2.5 to 5 percent prevalence of Lyme disease among dogs in the area this year. "So, though they are in the woods, they can also be anywhere there are small rodents.
They’ll feed on baby rodents and then hitch a ride on a mouse to get to a larger animal like a dog or a person," said Dale Litney, owner of Mosquito Squad of Northern Michigan. "Ticks breed, and flourish, in the nests of small rodents. The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) lists Manistee, Benzie, Leelanau and Charlevoix counties as high risk Lyme disease areas Antrim, Grand Traverse and Otsego counties as moderate while Emmett, Cheboygan, Kalkaska and Missaukee counties pose near zero risk. Only black-legged ticks spread the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which causes Lyme disease. In that time, Keith said there has been a well-documented increase in the three dominant tick populations and an expansion of western and eastern black-legged ticks. Rich Keith, director of the Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory, has been studying tick populations in Michigan for more than 10 years. Water loving and blood sucking, they mass breed in the moist months of May and June. Rise of the Parasites JNorthern Michigan is home to thousands of species, but this year’s crop is predicted to be a whopper, particularly among the tiny, pesky ones – the ticks, flatworm parasites and mosquitoes.
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