More Earthworms = Less Lyme Disease?

[@tjrubicon5463]

I had infinite ticks in my backyard. I tried poisons. Fail. CHICKENS WIN! Chickens destroyed them completely and also got rid of scorpions and other bugs. Chickens are a gift from God!

[@valkyrie1066]

Amen. I have two...indoor/outdoor chickens. No bugs, no crumbs. A fresh egg in a box in my room every single morning. (one of them is male) He also provides the usual wake up service, and, in his case, a "go to bed" signal. I never accidently sleep in; or stay up too late. And he chased down a mouse the other day and swallowed it whole. Good boy! (It's getting COLD, everything trying to get into the house right now) The last of the flies disappear like candfy.

[@GerbenWulff]

I am not in the US. I lived in a suburb for a while where that was infested with ticks (dog ticks). They even came crawling into the house every day around twilight. There were no free roaming chickens there. Now I live in the countryside. Chickens and roosters all around. No ticks. I never made that connection before. When my father-in-law can no longer take care of his chickens, I fear I will have to take over. But the rooster is going into a cage as far away from my bedroom window as possible.

[@mariekatherine5238]

I keep a flock of guinea fowl on my land. They keep down the pests including ticks, are a great warning system if someone or an animal is approaching, and I kind of like their company. I have lots of big, juicy earthworms in the back of my cabin.

[@justincase3108]

@@valkyrie1066whoa, wait what?! Indoor/outdoor … coop? Roaming chickens but back in the coop at night? Not your house, right? Garage? What’s the story here, please?

[@Amygondor]

@@valkyrie1066 good, more proof than a chicken is a better rat hunter than a thousand cats.

[@SpecialSP]

When I had a small homestead in NC, I had free ranging chickens and guinea hens, along with horses, goats and other assorted animals. I had very few flies or ticks compared to friends who didn't have fowl running wild! It was an obvious difference.

[@Daniel-jk7pe]

Chickens are the best I have problems with fleas in my backyard and we got a couple chickens by the next summer there were no more fleas

[@domsquaaa4323]

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[@DennisJNormand]

Finally someone with good sense. I live in Louisiana and this the best advice I have heard in a while. Prescribe controlled burns. Takes "time and effort" lowers the over abundance of "fuel" that would otherwise result in a hot uncontrolled wildfire. Breaks down compost, undergrowth, expedites the decomposition, creating nutrients trees need!. Thank you!.. for explaining this thoroughly & thoughtfully. Well composed explanation........Personally have implemented this strategy. I admit my neighbors were weary "a little scared of" burns they felt they had no control over, but they love the outcome. The National Forest Service has to battle this "Catch 22" problem yearly. Residents of some states "push not to burn "until it is too late an end up suffering "hot uncontrollable wildfires" and end up loosing the very forest they tried to protect....

[@davedemyan3302]

Absolutely correct. Same for inland forests of the Pacific Northwest.

[@DannaGesellchen]

As one who nearly died from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever I really, really appreciate this video! Thanks, Adam.

[@domsquaaa4323]

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[@thatguychris5654]

If you have a couple of acres, I recommend guinea fowl. They eat their weight in ticks and don't tear up the yard like chickens do. They are also much more persistent at following their insect prey.

[@stephenantonicelli7069]

Do they lay eggs like chickens

[@zone4garlicfarm]

@@stephenantonicelli7069 I prefer guinea eggs over chicken or duck eggs.

[@richarddietzen3137]

Are both sexes noisy?

[@pthhhhht]

(00:39) 6. Misting your shoes, socks and the lower half if your pants with a deterrent concoction of 7 drops of spearmint oil, 7 drops of eucalyptus oil and 7 drops of cinnamon oil in water with a spray bottle... I prefer my deterrent shaken, not stirred🌞

[@carolthomas770]

I do the same! Make my own like you do. Peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass, tea tree oil. Add witch hazel and water. Wish I had means to burn off some of my land. Ticks abound in S Ohio.

[@TgWags69]

Pennyroyal oil is better than soearmint ir peppermint.

[@Alluvial.]

PSA- A number of essential oils are very toxic to cats, including peppermint. Eating OR just inhaling! It’s worth googling

[@xmobile.]

Yeah! I know for a fact that eucalyptus oil repels ticks. I had a tick in a square plastic container and put down a drop of eucalyptus essential oil in one corner to see the reaction. It walked the outline repeatedly, but every time around, it made a wide curve to avoid the eucalyptus oil.

[@vids595]

7 drops means nothing if you do not specify how much water you are adding it to.

[@hoosierpioneer]

I've been living with Lyme disease for over 8 years. It took 2 years to find a doctor to test me. The treatment resolved the shifting joint swelling and brain fog, but it excellerated arthritis in some joints. My land is full of trees and leaves and deer and field mice, and I pull dozens of ticks off every year. Continuous battle.

[@rascaldere9327]

yeah... its called living in the woods.. I do too.. I just check myself religiously...

[@Chuck-e7d]

I believe I have Lyme disease but can't get doctor to test.

[@yangtse55]

Brain fog lol

[@wolfling2039]

@@yangtse55Haven’t you ever heard the term? The Mayo clinic knows what it is. People who have low blood sugar know what it means. It’s a slight lowering of consciousness but not enough to pass out. There are lots of disease processes that list it as a symptom.

[@comfortablynumb9342]

You need pyrethrin. Treat your clothes and shoes or boots. Look into it, apparently it's very good at killing or repelling ticks. I started getting sick from eating mammal meat after I was bitten by ticks in GA when I was 16. So I quit eating meat and now at 50 I don't know if I could eat it again but I don't miss it at all. Birds and seafood are enough, and I especially like catching my own fish. Flounder and redfish are awesome.

[@vinceaiello3163]

My grandpa grew up in rural wisconsin during the depression. He said he never heard of ticks til the 70's. He also said they had fires often when he was a child. I think your findings are absolutely correct. There is a prairie i would walk often. Would occasionally get ticks except on the years they burned it. Keep up your great work!

[@loup7723]

PERMETHERIN

[@domsquaaa4323]

~

[@spacetrucker2196]

yeah Wisconsin native here too. I remember people doing controlled burns more to control ticks to back in the 70's and 80's people would even burn the woods when conditions were right and wouldn't only burn off the lower growth. When people started planting white pine in the late 70's ticks took off.

[@aaronward3882]

We can thank our government for the toxic disease ticks are spreading

[@patrickhamilton5829]

Lyme’s disease is a lab leak from Plum Island so it is a fairly modern problem.

[@denisemusicnut]

While I do have ticks, I also have fireflies. Getting rid of the leaf litter would also destroy firefly habitat, which I am unwilling to do.

[@nathanielgraham622]

you can phase burn by section and get the best of both worlds a woodland full of fireflies in the spring and summer without ticks and chiggers ruining everything

[@Sand_Dollar]

There is never a magic bullet. What I got out of Adam's talk was: this is a strategy. It can be employed when situation become untenable. IMO, There is always a negative effect in every action we take. It comes down to cost vs benefit; which was stated in this video.

[@annep.1905]

You could catch a bunch of fireflies and keep them indoors. Get ride of the leaf litter, and get critters that eat ticks, like guinea fowl, and then release the fireflies. Alternately, you could try phase-burning by section, as previously suggested. You could also drag a sheet along the ground, pick off the ticks that climb on it, and get rid of them.

[@zarroth]

problem with your way of thinking is illustrated clearly on government land. The native tree and other plant species are being over-run. They are all adapted to periodic burns, and the invasive species that are choking them out are not. By removing that process to favor one or 2 things you happen to like you are ultimately destroying the native ecosystem. Short term nearsighted thinking is a very human trait though, but it can be conquered. It NEEDS to be conquered if our land is to prosper.

[@iwantorbs]

Th fireflies will recover from prescribed burning, wild fires are a natural process and HUMANS tampering with them (fires) has had dire consequences.

[@DCDevTanelorn]

This is what makes ecology so rewarding. These indirect interactions, trophic cascades and others, are so fun to learn.

[@dmanzawsome]

If your property is mid sized like an acre or less of woods you could rake your walking paths. If you pile up leaves by your favorite trees and also make a compost area. Then you could reduce the ticks in your yard and have extra organic compost material for growing crops.

[@davidhuth5659]

I love those open woodlands that prescribed fire provides. It's so nice to walk through and to see wildlife. I vote for more fires, well managed of course.

[@shapiemau2244]

No clue!

[@patriotsongs]

@@shapiemau2244 Meaning what?

[@mox3909]

I'm not leaving my house without a pocketful of earthworms anymore. In all seriousness, awesome video as always. Professional, informative, and entertaining, great work man.

[@mox3909]

Also awesome to see you mention controlled burns. I'm no historian, but I had heard that even the natives practiced controlled burns for hundreds of years in New England prior to colonization, and stopping the practice has changed the landscape enough to seriously impact species like the New England Cottontail whose habitat is heavily dependent on new-growth forest. There was a study years ago from URI that they were likely already extirpated from Rhode Island.

[@gillanalafoginis6018]

*im not leavimg my house without a pocketful of earthworms and a flamethrower anymore. :)

[@catherine8770]

How about a pack of possums? They like to eat ticks.

[@gillanalafoginis6018]

@ we’re going to need bigger pockets

[@nerobaal6655]

Will you send me some please?🙏🏻

[@nilsg.nelson-molin1170]

Hi, Adam. I'm a 70-year-old from Sonoma County, Ca. I've collected mushrooms for 45+ years in the North coast, and love your vids on that. You:ve made an important video here. I am familiar with nine species here, well, in Calif. From your video I learned many things new to me, like not getting immunity after one lyme-disease battle! Wow!... And mamy more things. Remember, I've been in dense forests and 14-foot-high huckleberry thickets extending hundreds of yards(where the edulis is!)- for YEARS collecting edible, and sellable, mushrooms. I thought I knew ticks better. Tho I am good at removing them. Thank you for a very thorough study,Adam.

[@springtimeplumbing6240]

Used to work on a 10,000 acre ranch which was primarily pine flatwoods & cypress ponds. The rancher regularly burned in early/mid winter to encourage certain grasses to grow and provide forage during an otherwise "lean" time of the year. Despite being out and about in the woods and brush every day, ticks were never a problem for me. But being in many areas which are rarely or never burned, I have had many tick bites, to the point that I spray my clothes with permethrin when I need to get out in the brush.

[@kenycharles8600]

I burned the leaves and deadfall from most of my place a few years ago. My main goal was tick reduction. My secondary goal was to have the ability to walk through the place without having everything snagging my clothes. One unforseen result was the decline of woodpeckers. There are probably other species that evacuated the premises that I'm not aware of. There was a decline in mice, too. I hope to find the time to burn the same section again this winter. My lawn around the house has an abundant supply of earthworms. Thank you for this presentation.

[@savage22bolt32]

I'm always shooing woodpeckers away. They drill holes in my house.

[@larryweinberg1191]

sounds like if you added some chickens you have even more success. Have heard some very positive outcomes with chickens.

[@kenycharles8600]

@larryweinberg1191 A couple of my neighbors have raised chickens. Foxes are a problem. I don't want to kill foxes because they help eliminate mice, rats, snakes and squirrels.

[@MourningDove-bn4dk]

get chickens for your ticks. get a cat/dog for the latter. woodpeckers eat ticks too. Turkeys are just as good, and are too big for foxes.

[@kenycharles8600]

@MourningDove-bn4dk I don't really want to be married to a herd or flock of animals that depend on me to be home every day on their schedule. Whst I do works well enough for me.

[@RobertoJuanSurMontana]

I heard someone say that jumping worms can elevate high enough to reach the tick heights on the shrubbery that the Knights of Nee would otherwise acquire. Oh, forget that! I hear the information here. I have yet another appreciation level for earthworms. Now that you mention it, I have found more ticks in dry, shallow topsoil fields (low earthworm populations). Does not mean that is empirical evidence, it just means MY observations. I do not suggest to anybody, but every Spring I add dry hay onto the top of my gardens and then use a propane flame thrower (replicate a forest fire) to obliviate "weed" seeds and keeps the soil healthy (as rototilling depreciates the soil quality). I then add much organic mulch to top off the garden, let it set, then later plant. Stupendous results. The last time I had a known tick in my gardens is back in the years that I used to rototill.

[@JacobE-23]

I never would have guessed that I'd read a Monty Python reference in the comments section of a tick video 😂

[@sarahbrown5073]

Healthy soil = less environmental toxins

[@b.griffin317]

shocking, I know. /s

[@Vastafari34]

I love the idea of you teaching us about the animals in the forests we all love so much!

[@Bluegill_Hill]

Loved the buildup, smiled bc I knew and glad to hear u say. I'm on about year 7 of prescribed burns. Self-taught and tailored for my specific homestead. Actually engaged in at this time. Some areas burn 2 yrs, some evry year, some never. Chickens currently hunting unburned leaf litter/mulch areas. Love your channel, cheers!

[@zinckensteel]

I haven't had a single plant lost to cutworms once my neighbor started keeping chickens - I rarely see them in my yard, but I can definitely see their efforts.

[@lisahamm6225]

Great video Adam. I had a nasty experience looking for mushrooms when I stepped into (I was told) a nymph nest of ticks. I had over 100 on me! My daughter who pulled off most of them thanks me daily for that memory! lol. Thank God though no Lyme.

[@Loohan7]

Use wide tape like duct tape to take them off if they are plentiful.

[@falsificationism]

This was so enlightening and genuinely novel and useful. I've known about ticks. I've known about fires. I've even known about parasitic relations between species. But you integrated everything beautifully here. 10/10 will share this one and keep coming back to it. This is why KZbin exists (not that I'm a fan of the corporation...just saying...having a platform for this info is vital). Thanks again!

[@timothyhammer6154]

Also I joined a Perscribed Burn Association this summer and now I'm doing my first volunteer day for a burn this week! Thanks for you videos!

[@louisVAogden]

Interesting video to one who lives in a southern Virginia forest. Thank you.

[@gabet945]

I like the idea of huge flocks or roaming forest chickens. 🐔

[@HoboGardenerBen]

Yeah, makes sense for your property. I don't want worms to eat up all the mulch, I use mulch in my gardens, bare soil bad. Chickens are strong foragers and scratchers. I wonder about quail too. Make a fully protected garden for them to roam, cutely forgaing underneath plants. They make cuter noises than chickens :)

[@goodun2974]

Forest chickens are also known as Wild Turkeys! Here in New England I've seen flocks that number more than 60 birds.

[@rogercunningham9987]

If you pile leaves up with vegetable scraps worms will turn it into a pile of castings for your flower beds and garden ​@@HoboGardenerBen

[@HoboGardenerBen]

@goodun2974 Ovenbirds like to forage in the duff of VT. Robins and other birds too. Turkeys must eat a lot of ticks, they're so big.

[@HoboGardenerBen]

@@rogercunningham9987 Nice, always top my gardens with leaves and throw whatever scraps around on them. Like you said, worms love it and make great soil.

[@cindyjackson108]

Thanks for all you do and share with us Adam. 😊

[@ScarletRebel96]

Glad to know our wiggly friend do more then most people realize

[@Mustard_Mann]

There used to be a prairie chicken especies living in the areas where Lyme disease is prevalent today (it was overhunted) maybe introducing them back could help

[@liabobia]

This couldn't be better timed, we have a stunning amount of post-frost ticks this year in Southern NH. I will try anything to reduce their numbers in the years to come.

[@sueyoung2115]

Thank you, Adam, for your scholarly coverage about the control of ticks.

[@sgmarr]

And? Goats! Lol Gots eat ALL the bushes and undergrowth. No Bushes, way less Density. And then, the purposeful burns, can be controlled much easier.

[@brocktoon8]

Unfortunately leaf litter is ALSO vitally important to many other insects overwintering. Get rid of all litter and you get rid of them too.

[@4quall]

Exactly! I leave the leaf litter where it falls every year. My property is thriving

[@douellette7960]

Yes that's right. I'm not sure why that wasn't more directly addressed in his video. Prescribed fires for the sole purpose of reducing tick populations seems very short-sighted. It might have some effects that are deemed positive for humans, but undoubtedly there be some negative.

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

​@douellette7960 The new policy of burning is ruining the forests by taking hundreds of years of humus away and sending it to the atmosphere. I've found more ticks in the dry forests that were burned away. I also don't believe in the new terra preta theory. It's just a Public Relations excuse for corporations to burn off the Amazon. The Amazon was not created by men burning. It was here long before Asians migrated to America

[@jamestully156]

​​@@4quall I started leaving the leaves a long time ago knowing it provides habitat and returns nutrients to the soil, but I used to go over the leaves once with the mower to mulch it up. As soon as I stopped doing that and just just the leaves as they were I started seeing lightning bugs in my yard in the summer. I think I was mulching the lightning bug eggs in the leaves sadly. Leave the leaves and leave them alone!

[@corraganvalentic9804]

Earthworms, native bees, and other creepy crawlies- I appreciate them so much!

[@turtletracks7657]

I did notice this myself in NJ over the last several years. We had some really large worms almost the size of snakes and they dried out the leaf litter. There are less red backed salamanders now, and I suspect the decline is also due to reduced leaf litter.

[@kenjohnson5498]

I was working on a pipeline outside of Ashland city Tn. in the 80's and slipped and fell on to a ball of seed ticks/deer ticks and was covered from head to toe. I picked ticks off me for a week and am so glad i didn't get any tick born disease.

[@RobertoJuanSurMontana]

When I was a kid, my bird hunting dog acquired had at least 250 of small sized ticks all of a sudden in the hunting field. I was shocked! I also have never heard anybody else experiencing this... thank you, for proving that my memory was not imagination.

[@dirtydantthepondboglim]

i call it the devil's brown sugar. it's when you hit a fresh hatch and it sucks. permethrin treated clothing is a huge plus.

[@JakeMagill]

That is so foul I pray I never fall into one ever

[@PICARDY610]

@@dirtydantthepondboglim IM SURE IT WORKS, BUT PERMETHRIN IS SO VERY TOXIC TO THE HUMAN SKIN, LUNGS. NOT GOOD FOR OUR WATER SUPPLY EITHER. DEET IS TOXIC TOO. WE ARE ALL SCREWED,& WITH THE RISE IN CANCERS, THYROID, ETC. SO SAD ALL OF IT. YOU KNOW WHERE THE TICKS CAME FROM? LYME CONNECTICUT. PROLLY SOME BIO-LAB OOOPSIE

[@graftedgarage3214]

Thank you! Great video! I do hope we can find a solution to the tick epidemic. I miss the days of our childhood without this concern. My anecdotal experience… I got Lyme in 2021 from a tiny tick in my wood chip garden. We had lots of worms and a frog pond; but, also a favored tick habitat. Our neighbors accidentally set fire two two acres of their wooded property one year. And now that I think of it I never had a tick on us our our dog in that area. I read that mice are the major carriers of tick. I’m not a huge fan of perimethian but do make the cotton soaked tick traps for mice to make their nests. Since I was bed ridden sick for six months, I’m less of a fan of Lyme than perimethian. We lived north of Pittsburgh in Beaver County.

[@grovermartin6874]

Those permethrin-soaked cotton balls really seemed to work on our property, too! It would have been nice to cover a bigger area with them, but it was a relief, just the same.

[@crowlsyong]

Wisconsinite here. Super stoked that you are aware of the glaciers' influence on earth worm populations. Lots of gardeners here don't realize that they are introducing potentially hazardous friends to their local ecosystems.

[@mikedrones537]

I grew up on eastern Long Island, NY. The deer tick numbers are incredible. I’m skeptical how well this worm strategy works. Plenty of worms in the soil on LI. A walk through brush at certain parks will leave you COVERED in deer ticks, even in dry seasons.

[@grovermartin6874]

When the tick explosion hit in the 1980s, 2,000 guinea fowl were released on Long Island. I never heard how that worked out. I assume they were so obnoxiously loud, people strangled them. Does anyone remember that time?

[@jeffhays1968]

We NEVER had a tick problem in the northeast in the 50's, 60's and even the 70's. They suddenly showed up and exploded in the 1980's. Some people wrongly blame wild turkeys for some strange reason but that's a myth. Nobody knows why. But it's 100% true there were little to no ticks when I was a kid, and certainly not black legged ticks.

[@megb9700]

Yeah, and the poison ivy is crazy now too!

[@jessicathemom]

A deep dive into epidemiology and some research funded by the government for biological warfare explains the surge in both ticks and tick borne illnesses.

[@grovermartin6874]

​@@megb9700Goats' favorite food is poison ivy! Love goats.

[@duxdawg]

Same here in Wisco. No ticks in the 1960s or 1970s. Started seeing a few ticks every summer in the late 1980s. Massively more ticks every decade since.

[@jessicathemom]

@@duxdawg it is the byproduct of the government’s research on biological warfare and creating vector borne diseases that have plausible deniability

[@gardencornrobber]

I have been burning my gardens and it has drastically reduced the ticks.

[@Treeplanter73]

The product Sawyer works great at repelling and killing ticks. I put it on rubber boots in spring.

[@walkingbacktogardening381]

Fantastic awareness, Adam. thank you

[@dedetudor.]

Wonderful video Adam. PLEASE keep educating people so this knowledge does not die out as is seems the earthworms are. We've seen way fewer earthworms when we turn over logs 😢

[@HoboGardenerBen]

Huh? There is rapidly spreading worm invasion going in in the united states, the mexican jumping worm. I work as a gardener in VT and see truly absurd amounts of worm sometimes. Eartrhworms are actually invasive to this continent in the first place, not great for all ecosystems, especially not this new aggressive one that loosens and destabilizes the soil. There is no shortage of worms, lol, eco-guilt expresses itself in the silliest ways sometimes.

[@nicolewebber3810]

We practice No Mow May for the bees and Leave the leaves in the fall.... we like to help out our pollinators and other littles out there. My neighbors don't really agree but idc if it helps and it does help my grass and other plants as well. 🐝🐞🍁🍂

[@Andrew_the_Arborist]

Terrific video & great info!

[@Houndini]

All land needs a good supply of earthworms. Great for your soil too. Plus fishing day comes up you have your supply for next morning fishing time.

[@Erewhon2024]

In some parts (NE?) of the US, eathworms are considered an invasive Eurasian species, the native ones having been wiped out sometime during the last glacial maximum ("ice age," though technically we are still in one since the polar ice caps are permanent). Supposedly several forest understory plant species need the thick leaf litter (not too fond of actual dirt?) that results when there are no earthworms to plow it into the soil and accelerate its decomposition. Of course the Northeast also has some of the worst Lyme Disease. In the Southeast, deer ticket also exist (as do native eathworms, but the soil is often younger and infertile), but one of their favorite nonhuman hosts seems to kill off the pathogens rather than perpetuate it as do the northern hosts (blood sources).

[@reidpinchback8850]

It is not true for "all land". Earthworms increase soil nitrogen to a level where some tree species cannot successfully reproduce by having seedling trees survive to adulthood.

[@Dan4052]

This was extremely interesting, and the host was well spoken and easy to listen to. I found the entire content fascinating. I have no idea where this is going or what is to come from it, but it certainly grabbed my attention. Nicely done.

[@alanchamberlin2384]

Very interesting topic. Thank you

[@GiGiC14]

Everything is interconnected. Excellent video. Thank you Adam. 💚

[@desert.mantis]

Thanks, Adam!

[@HoboGardenerBen]

Fire is also satisfying. I feel a vindictive pleasure imagining them popping in the heat. Been biten so many times. Never been tested or had the bullseye, but I figure it's impossible I haven't been infected. I live outside and work as a gardener in VT, have had many dozens of deer ticks attach to me and some of the bites stayed itchy for a couple weeks. I am not prone to illness so I'm gonna just not worry about it and do what I can to support my health, like intermittent fasting and eating polyphenol-rich foods and teas. I'll probably slowly go mad from brain degeneration from chronic lyme, lol :)

[@philkaznowski8157]

The best series!

[@FairyFrequency]

Fantastic information. Sending lots of love and peaceful vibes from the creeks and woodland of Missouri.

[@elainematiasiewich7292]

In my experience earthworms eat everything good out of soil leaving clay. We would put manure on our garden & flower beds & in a year or two it's mostly gone. I had been warned about earthworms causing this problem & didn't believe it til we had first hand proof. I've had chickens again for a number of years & they have cleaned out the worms. Thank God!!!

[@patrickhamilton5829]

Earthworms do not cause problems, the organic matter that is eaten by the earthworms is 7-10 times more nutritious after passing through their digestive system. In addition pathogens is killed in the process and the earth is inocculated with beneficial bacteria that enhances soil health.

[@Garysopinion]

I used to inspect youth camps for the state dept of health. They gave me the Lyme vax. Called the company and asked why normally you can get Lyme's disease again and again. The surface antigen on the borrelia bacteria changes shape when going from a cold blooded insect to a warm blooded mammal. The vaccine works because it was designed for the surface antigen when in the human body. I just pull the ticks off. But ended up with another tick borne disease: Babesiosis. Note - only found out because I donate blood and they do a test for that antibody.

[@grovermartin6874]

Thank you for sharing that information! I didn't know there is now a vaccine for humans. HURRAH! There used to be a vaccine for dogs, which do mount some immune response, they said. It wasn't as effective as hoped, so it was discontinued, I read. I had Lyme disease four times. The last tick (an adult female) had somehow climbed into my neck to ankle zip-up clinic jumpsuit, beekeeper's net head covering, Wellington boots, and rose gardening gloves, and I found it climbing into my navel after 1-1/2 hours weeding! That's when I gave up and mentally put my house on the market. ¡Basta!

[@l.mcmanus3983]

Great information! Thanks for summarizing it so well. I learned about the importance of fire to ecosystems while reading when I was young. The book was Fire in the Forging - Daja’s Book by Tamora Pierce. One point made in the book not mentioned in the video is that regular fires in a region mean low leaf litter depth. That in turn means that the fire passes through an area faster and does not burn hot enough to affect the larger trees present. Suppressing all fires is in a way analogous to introducing non-native species. It causes huge changes. I hope public support for controlled burns will rise through increased awareness and education.

[@UFOSPACEMAN]

This man is such a valuable and important part of our species! We need more beautiful minds like this.

[@jamezjernagain8665]

Bioweapon with legs.

[@charminghollowforge1109]

If it was developed by the government and “accidentally“ Escaped/released on citizens is that still considered a bio weapon?

[@sensibleopinionsofusa]

I heard this rumor too. Some accident in Lyme, Conneticut? A research lab with poor standards or poor walls? Whatever the reason, we should do more to research remedies.

[@nerobaal6655]

😐

[@crawfordwice]

Plum island

[@disjustice]

We should also restore wolves. They are keystone predators that kept deer population under control. Fewer deer means fewer ticks and a healthier deer population.

[@HoboGardenerBen]

Yeah, but do you want to live among wolves? I don't

[@4quall]

Must suck to be scared of everything 😂​@@HoboGardenerBen

[@timmynormand8082]

They tough on cattle farmers too. Wolfs are destructive

[@AaronRMG]

Would prefer hunting season to be extended - this would be safer than wolves.

[@goodun2974]

Eastern coyotes are bigger than they used to be and certainly larger than coyotes of the Western prairies. They're not as solitary as the Western Coyote and sometimes hunt in packs which might be partially due to inbreeding with dogs or even wolves. Anyway, the Eastern coyotes will sometimes attack deer and they do help keep the population down. We also have black bears, another apex predator, becoming pretty common in recent years. Bobcats are fairly common as well, and they can certainly take down fawns or small deer.

[@cecilestelzer-johnson5214]

When I go in the forest, I use dog collars that keep ticks away on my pant cuffs. It's very effective. Also, I look myself over very carefully.

[@Trapezoidal]

Glad to hear you steer the conversation to periodic cultural burning practices

[@greendeane1]

I will not worry about earthworms. Ticks, here in Florida, are a huge problem.

[@xX3NEZUE3Xx]

nice job on the quality of your presentation and video.

[@deborahdehghan2330]

Am I missing your video on how to personally be proactive to avoid tick borne illnesses that you brought up at the beginning of this video??? I looked for it, but to no avail… I would really appreciate a link from anyone! Thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge.

[@LearnYourLand]

Here's the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omOzYoyrltp8jqM

[@deborahdehghan2330]

Wow! THANK YOU, sir.

[@knowno7532]

Thanks Adam. Well balanced and reasonable as usual. Knowledge and inflection 👍🏻

[@josephkreydt]

Wow, this makes so much sense! Your video on oaks indicated issues with firefighting too. Sounds like we might need to stop intervening so much.

[@Gina-dn6xm]

I have lyme disease. My test was positive and found two years after symptoms begin. After 8 years of treatment, I still experience severe fatigue. Lyme is no joke and will change your life forever.

[@patriotsongs]

One of the best things you can do for Lyme disease (besides herbs like Japanese Knotweed) is get rid of all processed foods and eat clean. It makes a huge difference in symptoms.

[@Gina-dn6xm]

@patriotsongs Thanks, I have done both.

[@tecreates2384]

I loved that tick prevention video!

[@JUSTINthisworld828]

Love your channel, don't forget about the humble oppossum.

[@ImaOkie]

Excellent video , very informative . I believe as many others the use of controlled burns are necessary not just for the reduction of tick populations but wildfires as well , protecting homes and farms ! We've seen the damage caused by lack of management , some will never learn , but but the damage to our atmosphere from the fires thing , global warming and all that!

[@dankeener3307]

I heard possums also eat ticks that are found in their fur. I’ve seen them in our garden and believe they burrow under our deck. We have mostly trees, shrubs and wildflowers native to our region. I’ve been leaving our leaves in our landscape; raking or mower mulching our small lawn areas. In our 18 years I remember seeing 1 tick. Thx for your informative video.

[@hunters.8555]

This is exactly why I’m so excited for the exponential rise of regenerative agriculture. Once we collectively realize that more biodiversity and harmony with nature is key to a functioning relationship with our world, the possibilities become endless!

[@mightymulch828]

thanks for the education

[@ktk1338]

Excellent information. I really love your videos, I learn so much!

[@paulvalerio3887]

Hi Adam, I like the tree content but this is great and usable content!! You’re a good EDU speaker- Just wanted to send appreciation!!🙏🙏🙏

[@michaelangelo7511]

Thank you or another very useful and interesting vid. You give an excellent delivery. 👍🏻🇺🇸

[@lorriewatson7423]

I release my chickens, in my yard here in NW Pa, once or twice a week; it results in a noticeable reduction of ticks around the house

[@DavidSmith-ez4vv]

Leaf litter is also winter habitat for many pollinators. Prescribed burns should be done in balance with other actions for a healthy eco system. Thank you for the video and the great information.

[@Garysopinion]

also it is good to take a shower after a long time in tick territory. It takes a while to find a spot on the body to dig in.

[@natedizzy]

Thank you for the education and evolution of tick management 🙏

[@WilliamKelly-ou2nm]

Wonderful presentation, thank you.

[@suzanneogden781]

Thank you for talking about prescribed fires

[@deansherwood7468]

Excellent work, Adam. The benefits of prescribed burns are well documented. The political will to use them is another story.

[@timothyhammer6154]

Yes! Say it... Say it! Prescribed burning! Dude! Yesssss! I had this thought just a few months ago. About reducing the dense moist conditions that ticks like. And I didn't fully think about the need for them be protected from desication directly. You are the bomb! More content where you talk about proposed and newly studied solutions to land, ecosystem and plant management where you suggest a solution that natives used or is much more effective without adding chemicals or biologics. Please!

[@beckypennington79]

Thank you so much for this video Happy holidays to you and your family❤

[@AudraK]

I had Lyme disease many years ago when I was in school. Since then I’ve had autoimmune issues, two knee surgeries, and brain fog. Sometimes I wish I had never gone on the trip where I got the tick. I hope more research and prevention is done in Lyme disease. I feel there are more people out there suffering with it that don’t know they have it than we know of

[@paulh6591]

I've been volunteering in Great Falls Park in VA, primarily pulling invasive garlic, mustard, stiltgrass, and wavyleaf basketgrass. despite a deer overpopulation and the number of hours I spend off-trail in the woods I have not had a problem with ticks, to the point that I stopped taking precautions. I was chalking it up to the high number of wolf spiders in the leafy areas, and the suppression of ticks in the areas in which a monoculture sea of relatively dry stiltgrass has choked out 95% of the native plant growth.

[@sgtsargent]

While you make very good points in this video, I would also like to add on so that people do not go out and mess up the ecosystem around their homes. Many native and beneficial insects also rely on leaf litter to survive the winter. Completely eradicating all detritus from your land permanently will reduce/destroy the populations of beneficial insects. You may not notice their existence now, but you will notice their absence later when you have more nuisance insects that used to be population controlled by the beneficials. Leaf litter also breaks down and improves soil quality, which is important for your plants/lawn and also water drainage. TLDR: do not permanently remove leaf litter. Periodic removal is probably best. Employ diverse tic reduction strategies.

[@zmavrick]

Interesting. It must depend on the region more specifically as to the effects controlled burns have. In the area where I live controlled burns every 3 years are necessary to maintain healthy populations of native plants due to competition of non-natives. It has been found that it also promotes native insects, birds and wildlife to the point that ecology groups volunteer to help supply the extra manpower needed for the controlled burns. Notably it has brought back the populations of pheasant, grouse, and quail which were almost eliminated from our area. It just means that it must be more context driven and less overall blanket polices. Less appreciated is it also helps promote the deer populations. That is a problem due to the amount of damage they do and the larger populations increase auto accidents.

[@sgtsargent]

Yes, every 3 years seems reasonable, although the frequency would depend on your specific area. I just meant to not remove the leaf litter and keep an area permanently bare. Most controlled burns are done slowly and strategically so that creatures have a chance to escape.

[@steve37341]

Interesting idea. There is another approach. More snakes equals less lyme disease. The ticks attack rats etc rodents. And the snakes eat the rats and digest the ticks too. Not my idea. I read it somewhere awhile back.

[@wildedibles819]

Ya it could mess up plants and mushrooms in the woods where there's not any or less worms Some plants need that insulating leaf littler to help keep them warmer in the winter

[@onegrainofsand]

So awesome to see a video on this, I've suspected this for a while. I'm located in central NY and go to Ithaca College. We have asian jumping worms infesting the 500 acre woods off of campus. I've gotten maybe one tick. Go downhill to an area without the worms and I'm crawling with the things.

[@trishmarie7739]

Fascinating stuff!

[@HiddenBlessingsHomestead]

Great information! I really enjoy your videos 😊

[@DivineHollowMushrooms]

i LOVE your channel keep on rockin

[@DavidJVMusic]

Interesting good information !

[@meh-canics9628]

Great video as always!

[@thebodyH2O]

I love this vid. Ty Adam!

[@MrChristianDT]

I went about adding species to more broadly diversify an small forested area & have actually not been able to find any ticks for a couple of years. The place I found that had tons of them to the point where you could barely move without any getting on you was a big patch of tall grass before the opening to a trail to a very thick & difficult to navigate, but also not very diverse forest between a mine & a freeway. The ticks will congregate in areas where a lot of animals like passing through, but very few stick around because there isn't much food. Create a lot of food & habitat opportunities, a of animals who eat the ticks stick around long term & keep an area free of pests, which is a very effective strategy for a world where we don't have as many places available to create such spaces anymore.

[@lucybecker8]

Chickens love ticks. They will even pick them off your pets. I wonder if there is any type of wild fowl that loves ticks that could be introduced into woodlands without themselves becoming a pest.

[@jagrench62]

I grew up in PA as a young man we never had ticks , I would camp with a wool blanket on the ground. I remember leaves in the Northern counties that were a foot deep. Now we can't even go outside. I can tell you we stock up on lint rollers and roll ourselves on the porch.

[@nutrinutbob]

5 species here in SE Ohio (Hocking/Athens counties)! i saw my first male Gulfcoast tick this year.