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Conservation-Kept Them Warm all Winter, Grrrr!! By: Nick Buseman, Grundy County Conservation Operations Supervisor

Annoyed by the winter or loving every inch of it – take your pick. I personally love a snowy winter. Hunting and snowmobiling are a few things I personally enjoy. Seeing the pheasants, turkeys, deer, and many other animals struggle is hard for me to see. They are our next year’s crop of game that I will love to pursue come this spring and fall. I think they may be in luck with the snow beginning to melt and temps warming. Spring seems to be getting closer. With spring comes a few of my favorite activities – mushroom and turkey hunting. Many may think that with our thick blanket of snow draped across our landscape we will not have to worry about those tiny nasty arachnids – TICKS. Probably my least favorite creature that takes up residence here in the state of Iowa. Measuring at just a few millimeters, ticks rank high on the fear factor for me and my coworkers. As we snuggle under a layer of blankets to keep warm during these last few frigid months, the ticks have been buried under a deep layer of insulation (snow) most of the winter. As the snow melts and the land warms these nasty arachnids reemerge. A lack of feeding all winter causes them to look for a warm blooded host to latch onto for a meal. To be honest, writing this article is making my skin crawl. Many of you are aware of Lyme disease which is transmitted by the Deer Tick bite, and can cause severe or fatal damage to humans. Massachusetts in 1990 had just a few hundred cases of Lyme; in 2013 there were 4080 confirmed cases and 1585 probable cases. Often disputed by the medical field, I believe Lyme to be a real threat to everyone. Not just to outdoorsman and women, but everyone. People are finding more and more ticks that have made their way into homes, either by hitching a ride on a family member or pet, or just by finding a way into the house. Treat your pets for ticks and always examine your clothing and body when returning to the home. It is very common for our staff to arrive back at the shop after a long day of mowing to find a tick or two on them. I personally will not go to the woods or tall grass areas without treating my pants up to my waist with some kind of aerosol product containing deet. Deet is commonly found in mosquito repellant. A can of OFF is always found in my truck and applied often, not for mosquitos but for Ticks. Now is the time to stock your truck, car, camper, house with a few cans of OFF to combat these small but mighty arachnids. So if you have cursed the snow all winter, I will join you in doing so for protecting this year’s Tick crop. But don’t let them scare you from enjoying the outdoors. Take a few precautions and go see what the great outdoors has to offer.

Conservation-Kept Them Warm all Winter, Grrrr!! By: Nick Buseman, Grundy County Conservation Operations Supervisor

Annoyed by the winter or loving every inch of it – take your pick. I personally love a snowy winter. Hunting and snowmobiling are a few things I personally enjoy. Seeing the pheasants, turkeys, deer, and many other animals struggle is hard for me to see. They are our next year’s crop of game that I will love to pursue come this spring and fall. I think they may be in luck with the snow beginning to melt and temps warming. Spring seems to be getting closer. With spring comes a few of my favorite activities – mushroom and turkey hunting. Many may think that with our thick blanket of snow draped across our landscape we will not have to worry about those tiny nasty arachnids – TICKS. Probably my least favorite creature that takes up residence here in the state of Iowa. Measuring at just a few millimeters, ticks rank high on the fear factor for me and my coworkers. As we snuggle under a layer of blankets to keep warm during these last few frigid months, the ticks have been buried under a deep layer of insulation (snow) most of the winter. As the snow melts and the land warms these nasty arachnids reemerge. A lack of feeding all winter causes them to look for a warm blooded host to latch onto for a meal. To be honest, writing this article is making my skin crawl. Many of you are aware of Lyme disease which is transmitted by the Deer Tick bite, and can cause severe or fatal damage to humans. Massachusetts in 1990 had just a few hundred cases of Lyme; in 2013 there were 4080 confirmed cases and 1585 probable cases. Often disputed by the medical field, I believe Lyme to be a real threat to everyone. Not just to outdoorsman and women, but everyone. People are finding more and more ticks that have made their way into homes, either by hitching a ride on a family member or pet, or just by finding a way into the house. Treat your pets for ticks and always examine your clothing and body when returning to the home. It is very common for our staff to arrive back at the shop after a long day of mowing to find a tick or two on them. I personally will not go to the woods or tall grass areas without treating my pants up to my waist with some kind of aerosol product containing deet. Deet is commonly found in mosquito repellant. A can of OFF is always found in my truck and applied often, not for mosquitos but for Ticks. Now is the time to stock your truck, car, camper, house with a few cans of OFF to combat these small but mighty arachnids. So if you have cursed the snow all winter, I will join you in doing so for protecting this year’s Tick crop. But don’t let them scare you from enjoying the outdoors. Take a few precautions and go see what the great outdoors has to offer.