Lyme ticks in their own garden Protect by simple tips

Ticks do not only live in the forest, they also feel comfortable in gardens. Even in the winter months, the bloodsuckers are active, has confirmed a study by the University of Hohenheim. Since 2014, the scientists regularly monitored around 100 house, fruit and allotments in the Greater Stuttgart area for ticks. They recorded if the gardens were natural or close to the forest. The number of ticks was estimated by "flagging", pulling white fabric over grass and bushes. The ticks change to the ticks, are collected and counted. However, this method can only detect animals that are actively looking for hosts.
In 60 percent of the gardens, the arachnids could be detected. The bloodsuckers were found in different environments. Factors such as near forest, undergrowth and tall grass favored large ticks populations. But ticks were also detectable in small well-tended gardens in city outskirts. Most of the distribution was not uniform, but limited to a few places in the garden.

Attention ticks. Picture: stockWERK - fotolia

Three different types of ticks have been found, one of which is introduced into the garden mainly by birds. Other host animals are mice, hedgehogs and pets. As a result of climate change, the pests are active from February to December.

The common wood buck (Ixodes ricinus) is the most common species of ticks and widely distributed throughout the country. He can transmit various diseases such as Lyme disease and the Early Summer Meningitis (TBE). The areas with FSME occurrence are predominantly in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria and in small parts of Thuringia, Hesse, Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate. In the meantime, cases have also been reported in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt.

The study results have confirmed that ticks can not be completely avoided. "However, correct behavior can significantly reduce health risks," explains Rainer Schretzmann from aid infodienst. "Wear sturdy shoes and long trousers that are put into the socks". This makes skin contact more difficult. After a trip in the woods, meadows or heavily overgrown creeks you should search the clothes and the whole body for ticks. "Especially in crotch, in the armpits, elbows and hollows of the knees, the bloodsuckers like to keep up," says Schretzmann. If the tick has already set up firmly, it must be quickly removed with a special tick tweezers. (Heike Kreutz, aid)