By Bryan Eneas

Tick populations distributing in P.A. area

Jun 28, 2016 | 5:00 PM

While ticks have been found in Saskatchewan for decades, they have recently started migrating into northern communities.

For the last 10 years, tick rates have slowly climbed across the province. In the last three years, ticks have started to show up around the Prince Albert area. Recently, American dog ticks have been found in Little Red River Park.

“What we’ve seen is the American dog tick is expanding its distribution northwards and westwards. Over the last couple of years we’ve had a number of people from the Prince Albert area sending us ticks, most of which are American dog ticks,” Dr. Neil Chilton, a biology professor at the University of Saskatchewan said. “About 10 years ago we never had anything from (the Prince Albert area.)”

Chilton, along with Phil Curry from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health have been collecting ticks from across the province to check for pathogens and to study their distribution across the province. By travelling and examining the parasite’s population densities, Chilton also studies the systematics, genetics, and evolution of parasites.

The American dog tick is still the most common tick found in Saskatchewan, according to Chilton. These ticks are not the carrier of Lyme disease, but can still carry harmful pathogens to smaller mammals, and in rare cases cattle.

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“People certainly don’t have to worry about Lyme from these ticks,” Chilton said. “In the U.S. they are vectors of some other bacteria, for example Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. In the province, that is extremely, extremely rare.”

As for the black legged deer tick, which can carry Lyme disease, population numbers are still low across the province according to Chilton. Approximately 10 per cent of ticks submitted to the Tick Surveillance Program are carriers of Lyme disease.

Black legged deer ticks tend to catch a ride with migratory songbirds into Saskatchewan. Once a small population is established, they can hitch a ride with deer and spread around the province. As of yet, Chilton said there are no concentrated populations of black legged deer ticks in Saskatchewan, but ticks are present throughout the province.

To stay protected, Chilton urges people to check their dogs and themselves thoroughly after walking in long grass. The easiest way to spot ticks is to wear brighter clothing to make the darker coloured ticks stand out. Long pants are to be tucked into shoes, to prevent the ticks from climbing up the legs under the fabric.

If you find a tick, you can submit it to the Chilton of the Tick Surveillance Program. The surveillance program requires those who submit a tick to include the date, where the tick was collected from, what the tick came off of (human, dog, cat, etc.) and state if the carrier was out of province during the previous month.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas