Springtime on the Middle Peninsula is when we return to our gardens in earnest: planting, pruning, weeding, and removing winters bedraggled detritus. It is also the time when ticks increase their activity; but make no mistake—ticks are present year-round as long as the temperature is above freezing, so we are never truly free from their grasp.
At this moment, ticks are hanging onto leaves and blades of grass in your yard and mine, waiting for an unsuspecting pet or human to pass by. Ticks hang on to surfaces with their back legs, leaving their front legs free to hitch a ride on the shoes or clothing of anyone who brushes against the leaves or grass. Ticks don’t stalk you or lie in wait for you to pass; they don’t jump like fleas, or fly, and they don’t drop from trees. They are opportunistic rather than deliberate predators.
Ticks are not insects; they are arachnids, related to spiders and mites, but unlike those creatures, ticks are blood-sucking parasites that require three blood mea...