Wish you could hire them out! On Fri, May 2, 2014 at 10:49 AM, Cecelia Blair <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > Milk snakes are beautiful, as well as excellent hunters. They follow the > rodent trails to their dens. I had a milk snake route a red squirrel family > from the attic space. > > Sent from my iPad > > > On May 2, 2014, at 10:46 AM, "Ted Levin" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > 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 > >>> **************************************************************** > >>> To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask] > >>> Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. > >>> To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask] > >>> ---------------------------------------------------------------- > >>> Web based archives and subscription management are available at: > >>> http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html > >>> **************************************************************** > >> > >> **************************************************************** > >> To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask] > >> Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. > >> To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask] > >> ---------------------------------------------------------------- > >> Web based archives and subscription management are available at: > >> http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html > >> **************************************************************** > > > > **************************************************************** > To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask] > Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. > To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask] > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > Web based archives and subscription management are available at: > http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html > **************************************************************** > **************************************************************** To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask] Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------- Web based archives and subscription management are available at: http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html ****************************************************************