Wood and Deer Ticks are in Abundance in Alberta

Jul 09, 2020

Wood ticks are certainly a problem on the prairies this summer, especially in more southern regions.

Sherri Roberts, a regional crop specialist in southern Saskatchewan is battling one of the most serious tick borne illnesses, Lyme Disease. "The symptoms will continue until you get treated. I, fortunately, caught it really early. I got on the antibiotics with an extremely good understanding doctor. I was on doxycyclene (antibiotic) 100 milligrams twice a day for a month and have seemed to have beat this disease because I caught it so early. If you are unfortunate and you don't understand that you have the disease and you don't get treatment right away, it can last and linger."

Roberts has battled Lyme disease three times. "My second case of Lyme disease that I had, I actually battled it for 10 years before I was able to conquer it and get through it. Everybody's immune system is different, how it responds to treatment. The big key is don't ignore these types of symptoms, if you have them, get to a doctor."

The good news is there is treatment, according to Roberts. "There is, if you can get on it right away. At one time they thought they had a vaccine for it but it didn't work. They do have a vaccine for dogs and that does work. It is a concern that everybody that's outdoors should be thinking about. Right up with tick sprays, tape up the bottom of your pants if you know for sure you are going into long grass. By all means every time you come in from outdoors shed your clothes, and do a tick check for sure."

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Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.