Ticks in the Winter: A Shrouded Life

摘要

Many of us living in New York State are intimately familiar with the blacklegged(Ixodes scapularis), the primary vector for Lyme disease. This pest can be found in forests throughout New York State, and for those living in highly infested areas, like the Hudson Valley, the feeling of a tick crawling up your leg in the warm weather is all too familiar. This often begs the question, where do ticks go in the winter, and what does cold weather do to them? Often this question is asked during an abnormally cold period, like the recent 'Bomb Cyclone' that hit much of the northeastern United States, with the hope that the following summer there will be fewer ticks. Unfortunately, ticks have certain advantages when it comes to surviving harsh conditions that many other pests do not.