June IPM Newsletter

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News

June 2017

What are Maine Schools Doing About Ticks?

The Maine school tick management survey results are in. Seventy percent of respondents said that they do have a concern with ticks on school property. Eight percent of respondents said they hire a professional to apply pesticides for tick control, with number of applications ranging from two to six per year. Only eight percent of schools are using tick drags to monitor for ticks. Forty-five percent of schools are currently not performing any kind of monitoring for ticks. Twenty-four percent of respondents have modified school properties to reduce tick habitat such as keeping grass mown low, cutting shrubby undergrowth in forested margins adjacent to school properties, widening trails, or installing a 3' wide gravel or wood chip border at interface between wooded areas and mown grass. The complete results are available here.

There are fourteen different tick species in Maine. The two most common species you might find are the deer tick and the American dog tick (see image below). Deer ticks are often found in wooded areas and near tree lines, while dog ticks can be found in grassy areas such as a field. Ticks prefer a humid environment found in shade, leaf litter, under shrubs and trees and even in the wood chips under a swing-set. Ticks do not fly, but hitchhike on animals and people by “questing”—holding out their front legs in readiness to attach to a person or animal walking by. Deer ticks carry diseases such as Lyme disease, Powassan virus, erlichiosis and babesiosis. Fortunately, disease risk posed by the American dog tick is low in Maine. To effectively manage ticks and protect your students and staff, it is important to identify which ticks are present, how many, and precisely where they are located on school properties.

IPM Tactics for Ticks

Tick Flagging

Reduce Tick Habitat and Shade: Ticks, deer ticks especially, thrive in shady, humid conditions. Remove leaf litter on woodland trails and at the interface of woods and play areas. Keep grass mown. Maintain and prune shrubs, trees and flower beds to reduce shade and rodent harborage. Brush-hog and weed-whack where needed. Eliminate brush piles and tall grasses around buildings. 

Discourage Rodents: Keep foundations in good repair. Seal off holes in and under buildings and sheds. Seal gaps in rock walls. Mow, bush-hog, weed-whack and prune to eliminate grassy, brushy, and shrubby areas that harbor rodents. Do not allow stacks of materials (such as unused equipment, lumber, brush piles) to sit on the ground. Remove or raise them well off the ground to eliminate potential rodent harborage.

No Hitchhikers Allowed: Ticks hitchhike onto school grounds on birds, deer, dogs and other animals. Install fencing to exclude deer from area. Adopt a ‘no dogs’ policy. Keep trash receptacles covered, clean and well-maintained so animals won’t come looking for food waste. Keep bird-feeders off school grounds.

Keep People Away from Ticks: Move swing sets and sand boxes away from the woodland edge. Use signage and barriers to keep people away from tick-infested areas. Clear and widen woodland trails. Create a 3-foot or wider wood chip, mulch, or gravel pathway between the edge of the lawn and woods.

Safety Precautions: Emphasize and educate staff and families about proper personal protection such as using repellents, wearing light-colored long sleeves and long pants, and performing regular tick checks.

Deer tick (top) and Dog tick (bottom)
Deer tick (top): female (L), male (R) and American dog tick (bottom): Female (L), male (R)

Tick Flagging

Tick Monitoring: Sampling provides a key tool for identifying population size and hot spots for ticks in an area. The most effective and cost efficient method is tick flagging and dragging. Attach a 3’x3’ white cloth to a wooden dowel; heavy flannel or corduroy works best. Tie twine to the dowel for a handle. The flag can then be dragged over the ground and low vegetation to collect ticks. Ticks that are questing will hook onto the cloth, allowing you to collect and identify them. Keep records to document the number of each species and dates of ticks collected at each location.

Knowing which species, how many and where ticks are present is critical to managing them and reducing risk to people. 

Additional Resources:

Maine School IPM Pest solutions http://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/integrated_pest_management/school/pest-solutions/index.shtml

GotPests-Ticks http://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/gotpests/bugs/ticks.htm

MMCRI- Lyme & Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory https://mmcri.org/ns/?page_id=1090

CDC-Ticks https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/index.html

Training

Turfgrass

Upcoming Workshops: (click on the link to register)

June 28, 2017 8:30am-12:00pm. Waterville Senior High School, Waterville, ME. Register Here

July 11, 2017 8:00am-3:00pm, School Turf Workshop. Gardiner High School, Gardiner, ME. Please Register by July 6th! See Flyer for more information.

July 25, 2017 8:00am-11:00pm. Central Aroostook High School, Mars Hill, ME. Register Here

Want to host workshop at your school? Contact Kathy Murray, or call 287-7616 to schedule it.

On-line Training: Learn (or refresh your knowledge) on Maine's School IPM requirements such as notices, signage and record-keeping.  Click on either of these links: [PDF or PowerPoint Show]  

Webinars. For a list of upcoming School IPM webinars and links to on-demand recordings visit the EPA Center for School IPM Expertise Webinar page. 

Teacher's Corner

Questions/Comments? Contact us!
Email: kathy.murray@maine.gov
Phone: 207-287-7616

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Teacher's Corner

Register now for the 2017 Summer Teacher’s Institute! Join Maine Agriculture in the Classroom from July 31- August 4 2017, for a week long course at the University of Maine at Farmington. More information here.

Join the Maine School Garden Network! Interested in using IPM in your school gardens? Register here to participate in MSGNs new at-your-school learning program.

Delve into our trove of IPM teaching materials on your own. 

Tick Poster Contest Winners Announced!! 

Find us on Facebook:  No More Pests for Teachers and Kids