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Tackling TicksRepel pesky ticks without dangerous chemicals this summerAs warm weather approaches, I know we’re going to have a problem again with ticks near our home. Are there any eco-safe applications to get rid of them?—Thomas Cohn, Bedford Corners, N.Y.Tick season will be upon us sooner than we know it, as early as April if post-winter weather warms up fast. Ticks can pass on more diseases to humans than any other creepy crawly except the mosquito. Small bugs with big bites, ticks are associated most with Lyme disease, symptoms of which include fever, headache, fatigue and a distinctive circular skin rash. Left untreated, infection can spread to joints and the nervous system and, according to the Centers for Disease Control, to the heart. Modern science has devised many ways to keep ticks at bay, most involving harsh chemicals with dubious safety records. Indeed, according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the majority of tick products on the market contain toxins, known collectively as organophosphate insecticides, that not only kill insects but can also damage the nervous systems of pets and people. Studies have shown that children exposed to organophosphates may face increased risk of health problems later in life, including cancer and Parkinson’s disease. One recent study showed that people with any history of in-home exposure to insecticides containing organophosphates faced twice the risk of Parkinson’s as the rest of the population. In addition, four organophosphates used in pet products increase cancers in lab animals, and as such may cause cancer in humans. One study showed children of pregnant women exposed to products containing organophosphates to be 250 percent more likely than those in a control group to develop brain cancer before the age of five. According to Natural Resources Defense Council, pesticides that contain the organophosphates chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, tetrachlorvinphos, naled, diazinon and Malathion should be avoided as well as regulated much more stringently by government. While there is no environmentally safe and effective way to spray buildings or backyards to fight ticks, the Bio-Integral Resource Center urges an approach that manages the habitat in and around your home to make it less hospitable to ticks. Ticks are attracted to humidity, so deep and infrequent watering of your lawn will let it dry out between applications. Vegetation should be cut below ankle height, the brush along paths and roadways removed and trees pruned to let the light through. This also makes your property less appealing to animal hosts such as rabbits, rodents, possum, raccoons and deer. Further steps include placing soap, hair, garlic, lilac, jasmine or holly — all having deer-repelling qualities — around your property. Because pets are frequent carriers, their sleeping quarters should be vacuumed frequently. Natural Resources Defense Council also recommends that pet owners ask their veterinarian about dog and cat collars containing fipronil, a chemical that blocks nerve transmission in insects but has little if any effect on people or pets. The best advice when exploring the outdoors during tick season is to always cover yourself from head to toe and to wear light-colored clothing so you can spot ticks more easily if they do get on you. Search yourself thoroughly, particularly at the base of your skull, and wash clothes immediately afterward. For more information: • Centers for Disease Control: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/index.htm. • Natural Resources Defense Council: www.nrdc.org/health/effects/pets/execsum.asp. • Bio-Integral Resource Center: www.birc.org. Email your environmental questions to [email protected] |
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