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Ticks actually do serve a purpouse

Started by dah, March 13, 2023, 11:40:48 PM

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dah

 I subscribe to a bi-monthly publication to a magazine produced by the Oklahoma Department Of Wildlife Conservation . Have been subscribing over forty years . March/April magazine arrived , looked at table of contents and two articles caught my attention . 
   One article was Tips appreciated , pointers from a turkey hunting guru . Skipped it .
   Second was Ticks do have a role in Oklahoma Ecosystems , Article was written by a department employee communication specialist who was a graduate researcher with Oklahoma State University studying ticks that parasitized black bears .   
    I thought maybe I will get an answer to a question that I and others have asked . Why did the good Lord put ticks  on the earth ? 
    The article covered a ticks  life cycle , identification , what not ,   but I want to share the three main roles in the article that ticks play in our ecosystem .   Ready , here they are and I quote .
  " First , they are a food source , We know different reptiles and birds feed on them . "  That will sure fill an empty stomach .
  " Second , they can serve as a type of a natural control for wildlife populations because they can carry and transmit diseases " I was glad to hear that because you just cant have enough diseases transmitted . Considering I believe I was sickened by a tick bite and missed most of a turkey season . 
  " Third , they can be thought of as an ecological indicator of other wildlife populations . An increase in tick population could indicate an increase in a host species like mice . That increase could be due to a decrease in predators like snakes or carnivores . "  The more the ticks , the less the predators .
   In summary , they are a food source , they carry disease and could indicate your population of predators are down . Therefore, if you have ticks , you could have low predator numbers and disease , but you have a  food source . The answer of why the good Lord made ticks , solved by the ODW .  Might have to pass on the turkey tip guru , then again , might pass on to you fine folks some tips from the ODW .  Sleep well.

aclawrence

Yes I've wondered this myself. I think some of these nasty creatures just became awful after the curse.  I saw a Lonestar tick the other day while hiking. It's the first one of those I've seen. Thankfully I've had great success treating my clothes with Permethrin and haven't had any tick troubles the last several seasons since I've started doing that. I feel like if all the ticks died everything would be ok!


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Jim