Bears and ticks

From the Hartford Listserv

15. [Hartford Discussion] Bears and ticks
From: E D M Landman
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2014 03:06:52 -0400

*Bears and Ticks*
From: Charles Scott
Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2014 10:15:04 -0400

It's that time folks, if you live near the woods and have a bird
feeder, bears awakening from their hibernation will thank you for
leaving them out as a snack.  There are ways of hanging bird feeders
so that you can raise them up out of reach from the hungry bears.

As to the ticks, despite the pretty cold winter, we also had a very
thick layer of snow on the ground which serves as a nice coat of
insulation for the ticks.  They are amazingly resilient anyway, but
they will likely have survived the cold temperatures.  As the snow
cover is melted off ticks will awaken and be active.  The best
techniques for dealing with ticks are: 1. Wear long light colored
pants. 2. tuck the pants into white socks. 3. Inspect yourself outside
before you come in, do it again inside and prior to going to bed.  If
you have a partner, enlist their aid in looking you over.  Simply
showering will not cause ticks to fall off, even if the water is hot.
Guess how I know?  Yes, tucking your pants into your socks is pretty
nerdy looking, but keeping ticks off your skin is your primary
defense.

I have read that it takes a deer tick 24 to 48 hours of being imbedded
in your skin to transmit the Lyme disease.  The problem is that you
may not know how long the tick has been imbedded when you see it.  A
deer tick may or may not be infected and not all deer tick bites leave
a bulls eye rash.  So be proactive and keep them off you to begin
with.

Dogs and cats will bring ticks in with them.  If you sit on the
ground, guess what?  The ticks are now that much closer to your head.