Ticks in Spearfish Canyon?

Looking for some info on how bad the ticks are in spearfish canyon around late April. Thinking of heading down just wondering if we should be pretty cautious of those buggers.

Spearfish on the edge of their range, it seems, which is a good sign... Plus many ticks seems not to have SD as their range...

That one is also useful (for lime disease, which I assume you're more concerned with); https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/maps.html

Looks like it's mostly about the north-east.

For late April, they generally aren't getting going yet, but the population depends a lot on the weather.  I didn't see a single tick last year, but there have been other years, where I would end up finding dozens.  Mosquito repellent on legs and pants will keep them off.  In contrast to the govt maps, I've known several people who have got Lyme disease.

Odds are that you will see more snow than ticks.

mike gibson wrote:

 In contrast to the govt maps, I've known several people who have got Lyme disease.

Interesting - I guess for one there's necessarily a lag between cases being reported/filed and that kind of maps updated. It's true that ticks (and associated Lyme disease) have been on the rise generally speaking. Here in Quebec it used to be pretty much unheard of - now gov is starting to spread info about it for prevention...

Do you think they mostly got it in SD, or travelling elsewhere though (as climbers tend to be a mobile bunch)? I guess one factor that may lead to underestimating prevalence in SD is just population... density is so much higher in the NE, it "looks" worst, but perhaps isn't so much on a per-capita basis. Some people may have been bit in SD, went back home and that case may have been reported there to.... so perhaps no those maps aren't necessarily that reliable after all. (Though CDC for data is usually pretty good).

Seen many a tick in Custer SP.

Franck Vee wrote:

Interesting - I guess for one there's necessarily a lag between cases being reported/filed and that kind of maps updated. It's true that ticks (and associated Lyme disease) have been on the rise generally speaking. Here in Quebec it used to be pretty much unheard of - now gov is starting to spread info about it for prevention...

Do you think they mostly got it in SD, or travelling elsewhere though (as climbers tend to be a mobile bunch)? I guess one factor that may lead to underestimating prevalence in SD is just population... density is so much higher in the NE, it "looks" worst, but perhaps isn't so much on a per-capita basis. Some people may have been bit in SD, went back home and that case may have been reported there to.... so perhaps no those maps aren't necessarily that reliable after all. (Though CDC for data is usually pretty good).

Two that I know for certain were contracted in the black hills.  Saw the bites for both, and in one of the cases, I personally removed the tick from the other person.

The disconnect in the data is because there aren't enough people here to make enough noise and the little small town clinics around here aren't obligated or guaranteed to be connected to the CDC database.   I've seen all kinds of "range" maps showing this or that doesn't exist in the black hills in spite of the fact that I see it regularly.  It's like when Boston gets 6 inches of snow and all the major news channels make it a lead story.  We get 3 feet of snow and only the local news covers it.  Another fine example is the Montana fires versus the California fires this year.  California was all over the news while Montana barely got a mention.

Thanks a lot for the info everyone,

Seems like it'll be about the same as springtime here in Canmore. Ticks blow chunks.

Cheers and maybe I'll see you guys there.

Pete Rock wrote:

Looking for some info on how bad the ticks are in spearfish canyon around late April. Thinking of heading down just wondering if we should be pretty cautious of those buggers.

Hey Pete, if your are here around the end of April the local college climbing club has been working on organizing a competition similar to 24HHH but not as pricey and more for fun. Keep enjoying eye peeled for info 

Dammit.  I just found a tick on me.  Kinda freaky that they are out now, especially with all the snow we just got.  

mike gibson wrote:

Dammit.  I just found a tick on me.  Kinda freaky that they are out now, especially with all the snow we just got.  

Super Ticks, they're new