Last week’s warm weather coaxed winter-weary residents outside to get a jump-start on gardening or just for a walk in the woods. But reports on Nextdoor Harvard indicated that many who ventured out returned with what is more commonly a summertime nuisance: ticks.
Nearly a dozen Nextdoor posters reported ticks on themselves or their pets, and many were surprised to see the little devils during the winter. But, according to the University of Rhode Island’s Tick Encounter website, adult deer ticks are active throughout the winter any time the temperature is near or above freezing, as long as there is no snow cover. While some ticks go into a sort of hibernation in the fall, about the time of the first frost, adult deer ticks begin looking for a host to spend the winter with. Those that are unsuccessful will lie low under the snow or leaf litter on cold days and emerge on warmer days to wait in vegetation for an unsuspecting host.
The 70-plus February temperatures also left some residents wondering if the peach crop might be in danger. But it’s “so far, so good, knock on wood,” said Katie Carlson of Carlson Orchards. Warm days and cool nights with a gradual change between highs and lows is not a problem, she said. “It’s when we go from 70 degree days to minus 2 degree nights in a short period of time that problems can happen,” said Carlson.
The 2016 peach crop was a total loss in Harvard and much of New England. After almost a week of unusually warm weather in early February that year coaxed the peach trees out of dormancy, a week later, multiple nights of bitterly cold temperatures that dipped as low as minus 17 killed the delicate peach buds. A similar cold snap in early April damaged a substantial portion of the 2016 apple crop as well.
The National Weather Service predicts that temperatures in Massachusetts will remain normal or above normal for at least the next two weeks. That’s good news for peaches—and ticks, so be sure to take precautions when working or playing outside. The Board of Health pages on the town website contain information on tick precautions, identification, and diseases.
