It’s likely to be an aggressive summer for ticks in KY. Here’s what to look out for Yahoo! Voices
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Ticksthriveinwarm,humidclimates,andthemildElNiñowinterKentuckysawthisyearislikelytobeaboonfortheirpopulations.
Itsetsthestageforanactivetickseasonthisspringandsummer,accordingtoUniversityofKentuckyentomologistJonathanLarson.
“That’sexactlywhatweworryabout,”LarsonwrotetheHerald-Leaderlastweekinanemail.“Lesstrialsandtribulationsoverthewinter,notonlyforticksbutfortheirvarioushosts,andthenoverthesummerthepotentialformorehabitattogrowthattheyliketolivein.”
AccordingtotheNationalWeatherServiceinLouisville,Kentuckyexperiencedatop10warmwinterthisyearwithbelow-normalsnowfall.Initslargestcities,theaveragetemperaturehoveredaround40degreesFahrenheit.Tickscanbeactiveyear-round,includingonwarmwinterdayswhengroundtemperaturesareabove45degrees.
Evenundernormalwinterconditions,tickscansurvivebyfindingcoverunderleaflitterorinundergroundburrows,andscientiststheorizetickscanevenproducetheirowna
