Experts Predict Summer 2021 Will Be a ‘Tick Time Bomb’—Here’s How to Stay Safe

“We are already seeing more ticks this season than last year.”

• Wataalamu wanatabiri majira ya joto 2021 itakuwa "bomu la wakati wa haraka."
• Kutokana na baridi kali, sehemu nyingi za nchi tayari zinaona ticks zaidi msimu huu kuliko mwaka jana, kama wadudu wadogo hustawi katika unyevu.
• Hapa kuna jinsi ya kujikinga na kuumwa na tick, ambayo inaweza kusababisha magonjwa mbalimbali ikiwa ni pamoja na ugonjwa wa Lyme.

Kila majira ya joto, tunasikia onyo sawa: Itakuwa mwaka mbaya kwa ticks. Lakini wataalamu wa entomolojia (a.k.a. wataalam wa wadudu) wanasema kuwa 2021 inaweza kuishi hadi ujumbe huo. Kwa kweli, Kituo cha Hali ya Hewa hata kilitaja mwaka huu kama "bomu la wakati wa haraka."

Robert Lockwood, mtaalamu wa entomologist aliyethibitishwa kwa Udhibiti wa Wadudu wa Ehrlich, anasema wataalam tayari wanatambua idadi ya watu wanaostawi katika 2021. "Kutokana na baridi kali na mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa, tayari tunaona ticks zaidi msimu huu kuliko mwaka jana," anasema.

Kwa nini majira ya baridi ya mvua ni muhimu? Ticks hustawi katika unyevu. Matokeo yake, "mikoa ambayo ilipata mvua na baridi kali itakuwa na idadi kubwa ya watu wa tick msimu huu wa joto na majira ya joto," anasema Ben Hottel, Ph.D., meneja wa huduma za kiufundi kwa Orkin.

The warmer and moister an environment becomes, “the faster the arthropod life cycle is completed,” explains Anna Berry, a board-certified entomologist and technical manager at Terminix. “When it gets very cold, very hot, or very dry, it may take longer to go from one stage of development to the next.” A wet winter and spring, along with warm temperatures, “provides the necessary warmth and humidity for fast development,” she says.

Learn more about staying safe from ticks this summer by reading the complete article written by Korin Miller here.