Ticks Role In The Ecosystem

Ticks Provide Nourishment for Many Animals

If you’re like most people, you would prefer to eliminate all ticks and other creeping crawling critters from this planet. However, ticks serve a vital purpose as they help supply food for many animals. Did you know that amphibians, birds, and reptiles rely on them for nourishment?

The small size of the tick is perfect for the mouth of a hungry bird, and since ticks are found throughout the world, this helps to give these vampire-like creatures a purpose. It’s hard to imagine they have any worth when you’re trying to remove one lodged into your fur babies’ skin, but the wild turkey needs them for food, as do lizards. 

It helps to know that they are a source of food for many pleasant creatures, as it helps you appreciate them a bit. However, this information can also help you learn how to control them properly. Did you know that many people raise certain animals specifically to help them control the tick population on farms? 

For instance, chickens and guinea fowl love to eat ticks, so they can help reduce the population and keep them from cows and other larger animals. When a guinea gets to the tick first, it spares the poor cow from tick-borne diseases that can wipe them out. It also helps the farmer reduce costs for vet visits and animal loss and provides food for other beneficial animals. 

One of the best destroyers of ticks is the possum. Yes, it’s ironic to think that a possum will eat up to 90 % of ticks crossing their path. Who needs fancy chemicals and other treatment methods if you have possums in your yard? As effective tick predators, it’s good to have a few of these close by, though you probably wouldn’t keep them as pets. 

Another interesting fact is frogs, lizards, and even squirrels can consume up to 5,000 ticks in a season. So, not only is this a significant source of food, but they’re helping to keep the tick population under control in your area. 

Ticks Help to Reduce Animals Populations

As humans, we constantly try to cure disease and prevent it from occurring. However, disease is an important part of living as it helps to keep wildlife populations under control. Many weak and sick animals wander the woods and grasslands around your home. 

Weeding out the frail animals helps keep these genetic issues from being passed down. Like in human life, animals often have flawed traits that are devastating when passed on to their offspring. Nature is rough on any animal, and only the tough will survive. 

Ticks help to distinguish the strong from the weak. As you know, one of the most common illnesses they carry is Lyme disease. However, they also carry tularemia, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can all be deadly to weak animals. 

One bite from a diseased tick can wipe out frail animals, which helps to keep us from being overrun with animal populations. It’s effortless for an area to be overrun with mice, rats, deer, and rabbits, but the tick helps to keep populations under control and healthy. 

An Indicator in the Health of the Ecosystem

Did you know that there are more than 850 tick species around the globe? While that may send shivers down your spine, it provides a wealth of information for scientists who observe these numbers. The ecosystem can be healthy or in poor shape, but tick populations help scientists better understand what’s going on. 

If the number of ticks in any given season is unusually high, it indicates a possible decrease in smaller mammals, which can be concerning. One study helped to shed light on this fact. In the eastern part of this country, a healthy timber rattlesnake will eat tens of thousands of ticks in a season. 

While you may not like rattlesnakes, you can certainly appreciate their effort in controlling these pests. The study found that the region will have fewer ticks when the ecosystem is in good shape and thriving. An increase in ticks can also indicate an issue with the snake population in the area. 

Scientists have found that ticks provide them with vital information, help them prevent extinction issues, and keep an eye on any environmental problems.

Why Are There So Many Ticks in Your Yard and Do You Need Professional Help? 

There may be abundant hosts if you’re seeing an unusually large number of ticks on your lawn this season. Since ticks can’t fly and don’t crawl for great distances, they must be carried in by the host to which they’re attached. Once they feed, they will fall from the animal and find a place to rest, such as areas with brush, woods, or tall grass.

Living near woods or having tall grass near your property can exacerbate the tick problem. Ticks thrive in moist and sheltered environments, which these types of properties often provide. To combat this, it’s crucial to manage your property by removing any tall grass.

Being close to wooded areas or near farmland with tall grass may be beyond your control, but you can still make a difference in your immediate area. Regularly mowing your grass, keeping wood and leaf piles clean, and using insecticides as necessary are all effective ways to manage ticks in your yard.

If you have pets, it’s essential to ensure they take a flea and tick preventative to ensure that they don’t have an issue this season. If you have a severe problem that nothing seems to help, it’s best to call in professional reinforcement. 

While most people think of pest control professionals as individuals who handle mice, roaches, spiders, and other typical household critters, we can help with these issues, too. Through education and being proactive with eradication, we can help you make your yard safer for the ones you love.

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