Milk snakes are helpful, too, particularly around the house. I have a pair of barn cats for this very purpose. When you're birding or photographing, it is often tough to avoid tick habitat: the ranker the vegetation the better the birds and the more likelihood of encountering ticks.  

On May 2, 2014, at 10:30 AM, Cecelia Blair wrote:

> Another method to avoid them is to wear high rubber boots, don't sit down on the ground and avoid brushing up against tall grasses or plants where the ticks can be hanging out, looking for a ride.
> 
> Ecologically, a way to limit ticks is to support or allow predators of the rodents and small ground animals--especially foxes and coyotes. Owls, weasels, bobcat, skunks, etc. are also useful. The suburbanization of our woods and fields, and driving or killing off of the most efficient natural predators of rodents, such as coyotes and foxes, does leave the niche wide open for tick-bearing rodents to multiply.
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
>> On May 2, 2014, at 10:05 AM, "Ted Levin" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>> I removed a dog tick from the nape of my neck three days ago. So, be vigilant. Black-legged ticks, formerly called deer ticks, the primary transmitter of Lyme Disease, are in the UV. The tiniest of the instars feed on white-footed mice, chipmunks, short-tailed shrews, and ground foraging and ground nesting birds—robin, junco, hermit thrush, meadowlark, and assorted sparrows. The small mammals and songbirds are the principal vectors of the disease NOT deer (they are a dead end). Wear light-colored pants, tuck them in your socks, and douse your pant legs with some king of repellant. 
>> 
>> Ted
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