We had some welcome rain on the weekend. On our walk we came by a meadow full of huge marguerites, wild bellflowers and buttercups, and to my surprise the first scattered, bright blue cornflowers. I'm still busy with painting for the #maykind challenge and yesterday I finally planted my cucumber seedlings into the greenhouse and soon the weather should be stable enough to also plant the tomatoes in the outside beds. This year it is exceptional tricky, because of the abundance of ticks we are having. I think it might have to do with the floodings we had last autumn. I was already shocked when I found six ticks on my clothes in a period of no more than three quarters of an hour while cutting the berry plants. But when we had 26 ticks on a short walk on a forest path, I knew that this will be an extreme year and to be honest, I don't know how to manage this. There is this constant question mark in my head since a few years, something I can not wrap my head around. How should one be able to connect with nature when every step outside is such a risk to one's own life? Everyone who had been seriously ill from a tick bite will understand what I mean. Last month a dear friend of my sisters fiancé committed suicide after battling with severe symptoms of neuroborreliosis for 18 years! It is a hell of a sickness. It destroys you from the inside in a way that makes you feel completely trapped and out of control of your body functions and brain. Like torture, but with no hope for salvation. Sometimes I really feel lonely and stumped with this theme.
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6 comments:
So viele Zecken! Ich verstehe Deine Sorgen vollkommen. Der Klimawandel kommt den kleinen Überlebenskünstlern zu Gute. Und die Auswirkungen der Infektionen sind wirklich heftig, wie ich im Familienkreis erlebe
Ich drücke die Daumen!
Mit ganz lieben aufmunternden Grüßen
Nina
It's hard, I'm so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law's friend. I think all we can do is be careful, and be tick aware, but it's important to enjoy outdoors activities and not let fear stop us. I'm sure you check your skin, wear long layers (leggings under skirts etc) in long grass and are vigilant about ticks. I remember getting bitten as a child, and mum pulling a tick out of my scalp. I used to run wild in the woods all summer, so inevitably I'd get bitten and stung by all sorts of insects, but I was lucky as I didn't get ill. Is there a tick specific repellent spray you could use on your legs to help reduce the risk?
Danke, liebe Nina! <3
They get more and more and the percentage of ticks who carry disease is also increasing. It is an impossible task to avoid them. I tried everything and nothing works. Even though I am constantly checking and do what i can I have at least one tick bite in a year. I even had one in November. So I only feel safe when there is a layer of snow on the ground. Also it will soon be too hot to wear leggings and shoes and my last tick bite was between my fingers. My hands were dirty from the soil when I planted my cucumber plants into the greenhouse. It must have been in the soil somewhere, and crawled on my hand and directly started to bite. I even had situation where a tick would appear on top of the bed sheets. After being so utterly sick from a tick bite in 2021 and even got another infection one year later, and I still dealing with so many issues from it, I really don't know how this can go on. Not with this amount of ticks we are dealing with! Do you see them often? I read that England is not as worse as Austria and they also do carry not as much diseases. Here it is a daily struggle. Every time I step outside. It is only a matter of time. Which drives me crazy.
We don't have as severe a problem as you do in mainland Europe, but they are becoming more common here too. I think it's our warming climate. Here the main risk is in areas where dear graze, and areas with long grass. It is worrying, I understand why you're upset and concerned, I really do.
Yes, it is really frustrating! I really hope that there will be a decline of ticks again someday, but I fear also the opposite!
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