Nature Moncton March Meeting

MARCH MONTHLY MEETING PRESENTATION

“TICK TALK”: TICKS IN NB AND HOW TO LIVE WITH THEM

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2025, 7:00 PM

MAPLETON ROTARY LODGE

PRESENTER: NELSON POIRIER

Ticks have been with us in New Brunswick for a very long time but have not been a human problem. That has changed dramatically in recent years as the one species that is the number one vector of arthropod-carrying disease organisms in the US is very rapidly moving into Canada. This species is the Black-legged Tick, which has become a major health concern in NS and is now expanding its range into NB.

The Black-legged tick is the only species that is a significant vector of several organisms capable of producing very serious disease in humans when they choose humans for their blood meal. This tick is not about to leave us; instead, it’s becoming very much more abundant. It is crucially important to learn how to live with this tick, and that means learning how to distinguish it from other nonproblem ticks, what to do if we experience a tick bite, and how to prevent that from happening in the first place.

With the increased presence of the Black-legged Tick, some very useful techniques have been developed to identify the tick in addition to reliable tests to know if a tick is carrying a disease organism and if so, what treatments are best to prevent disease from advancing in the human host.

Nelson Poirier will give a presentation to bring naturalists up to speed on this subject and will have preserved specimens and removal instruments to demonstrate.

This presentation will be given live at the Mapleton Lodge, and folks can join virtually at the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82387173384?pwd=4hJFOVwBy9ZL8AoueFmud7oevgXBe6.1

As always, anyone is welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.