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By Michael Reeve

SEASON OF THE TICKS

Warmer temperatures signal the start of tick season

Mar 18, 2024 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — With temperatures forecast to be in the high-teens this week in Kamloops, those taking to the many beautiful trails are advised to check for ticks after their walks and hikes.

“It’s certainly possible, even in February, because the ticks respond to temperature,” said Dr. Rob Higgins, the Co-Chair of Thompson Rivers University’s Department of Biological Sciences. “Once it’s sunny and 4 degrees Celsius, you will start to see them moving. But certainly on a day like today when we are pushing into the teens, they are definitely active.”

Ticks begin to awaken in the spring as weather warms. Dr. Higgins noted those walking in a circular route may be more vulnerable to pick up the mini hitchhikers.

“The ticks will pick up on the vibrations in the ground, they will pick up on our shadows, and they will pick up on the carbon-dioxide, and they will move from the duff up into the low grasses.,” said Higgins. “So, you don’t expect to see ticks sort of higher than mid-thigh in most cases. And if you walk out on a trail and then you walk back, that’s when you are going to be picking up most of our ticks.”

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Ticks are attracted to both humans and our four-legged friends. And experts say the best practice is to give yourself and your pet a once-over at the end of the hike.

While ticks do have the possibly of carrying Lyme disease, it’s rare in B.C., with only about 10-20 cases per year. But that doesn’t mean the ticks are harmless.

“The vast majority of ticks right now are the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick, and that tick doesn’t normally vector disease, and it certainly doesn’t carry Lyme,” reiterates Higgins, “So that the common one that just about anybody who is walking in the grasslands right now is going to pick up, there is one issue with that tick and it’s that it can cause tick paralysis.”

Thankfully, he adds that tick paralysis symptoms generally go away soon after the insect is removed.