Bugs & the Rise of Animal Borne Diseases in the West

[TheTrippingAuthority]

With tick populations on the rise, along with spread of West Nile Virus and Lyme Disease. It's seems to me, that in an ever warming world animal borne diseases are becoming more and more of an issue. What are you're thoughts on the matter and which species bother you the most?

On another note, I filmed all the paddling / portage shots, in Queen Elizabeth Wildlands II, Provincial Park.

 

[Alan Gage]

I find that cussing helps a lot.

I've also found that lightweight titanium cooking pots make great bug swatters as you get a nice "ping" noise when you connect in mid-air. Mosquitoes ping louder than black flies. It might not do anything to control the local population but it makes me feel better.

Alan

 

[TheTrippingAuthority]

we should play ping pong with mosquitos and deerflies

 

[yellowcanoe]

None bother me the worst. We had a horrid dry spring and hence the blackflies failed to reproduce.. This accounted for them being out in late September females biting. Ticks sure they are here, Skeeters, Not many this year as we had lots of dragonflies.

There will always be a pest. For some reason we do not get the awful deerflies that people in the Adirondacks and in land Canada do.. I guess if I had to pick one out it would be those ankle biters that travel with you in the canoe.. The rest you can lose

Of course we have the Cliff Jacobsen "non existent" insect.. The no seeum Light my fire!

 

[memaquay]

Bare with me, the best description of the purgatory known as bugs in Northern Ontario comes from Selwyn Dewdney in Daylight in The Swamp. I'm going to attempt to post screen shots of the pertinent pages, although I have consumed an abundance of the elixir known as Bud Light. I dread the thought of ticks coming into my neighbourhood, but they are following the deer. I shall start killing deer instead of insanely following the unicorn known as the moose, who during hunting season, is like the sasquatch, oft talked about but seldom seen.

 

[yellowcanoe]

LOL
While I see deer up
north 50 miles moose rule

 

[Odyssey]

Well that says it all. Any other little kid in any other country around this little blue ball we call planet earth wants to dress up like their favourite superhero/princess/cartoon character at Halloween. Not my youngest grandson. He picks out a costume from off the rack in a discount store with bright iridescent colours...with legs...wings ...and big red bulbous eyes.
(I've tried resizing the photo our daughter sent us but can't yet figure it out. No fault of this site, just my own tech-challenged inabilities.)
When I saw my grandson dressed as a giant bug I laughed till I cried. I told him and his Mom he was the first bug I ever wanted to hug. When's the last time you hugged a bug?!
It was his first Halloween, so he stood out from the crowd being shy and hanging back behind all the Unicorns, Princesses and Superheroes and responding with a big bug-eyed face saying "Thank you. Have a nice day!" I ask you, when's the last time a bug ever thanked you?!
Our daughter and her neighbour friend walked with coffees in hand behind the kids as they scooted door to door excitedly yipping and yelling...and buzzing apparently. I'm told the scene was repeated all down the street. "And you at the back, what are you... Oh wait? Oh my G...Earl! Trevor!...Quick, come here. Ya gotta see this!"
So I'm thinking my grandson has set the bar a little high in his 'hood for next year. And I admit to a little trepidation as to what exactly the kid will think of next. I mean, where do you go after you've been a bug?! Superman seems a bit ordinary now. Even Spiderman or a Disney Princess will be passé. I don't know about you, but any kid comes to my door at Halloween here in the Great White North dressed as a Super Pest gets extra candy.
(I'll keep trying with the photo resizing. It might be the only time you'll see a cute bug.)

 

[yellowcanoe]

http://www.resize-photos.com/ You can't do it on this site..

 

[frozentripper]

Inside a deer's head may be a parasitic nematode aka brainworm, which is fine with the deer for survival as long as they don't freeze too badly and die during the winter. Moose won't tolerate brainworms transmitted by deer and with more deer around in warmer winters, moose might lose out.

It seems, according to the brainy and worm-free scientists studying such things, that Ontario has been covered with ice more of the time during the last two million years, than it has been been green and ice-free. There have been... maybe fifty glacial advances and retreats during those two million years so maybe a little warming would be a good thing with the next glacial advance that's surely coming,.. in the long run. In the short run, however, climate change is gonna kill us all. Well, maybe not all will be killed, only those that can't afford air conditioning and who stay outside a lot. Those adventurous characters that get hit by a block of concrete being blown about by super-high-energy-hurricanes.

I don't it's possible to predict how biting bugs will fare with climate change... we'll see. Golf courses will be sprayed regularly with pesticides so they'll be OK.

In Ontario, the hard igneous and metamorphic knob and pit topography has been in place for about 800 million years, unchanged more or less since mountains were worn down by weathering, since mountains were created by continents slamming together maybe two billion years earlier (the Appalachians are still around from the slamming but they're younger than the Canadian shield). At times overlain by ocean-deposited limestones and then ground away by glaciation again and again during the last two million years, to reveal and create more of those little pits and pockets that create lakes and ponds, and streams to connect them. Lots of habitat for aquatic biting bugs... and with more rain brought on with more storms, they'll probably keep producing.

 

[MagicPaddler]

Do you suppose there are more animal borne diseases now because there are more animals around? Growing up in Illinois I knew of no one who had seen a deer or a coyote. It was rumored that there was a deer on an island in the Mississippi River about 30 miles from us. Skunks, opossums, raccoons, and hawks ate chickens. We raised chickens so the chicken eaters were hunted to extinction. Mice were a problem so when we found a snake on the property we brought it home and put it in the corn crib or haymow. We also had cats to keep the mice down and cats get pink eye so we got pink eye. Ticks were a problem and we found them attached to us especially in spring and fall. I remember picking ticks off of school mates but I never heard of anyone who got a disease form one.

 

[Odyssey]

This little bug walked all the way to preschool and then decided he didn't like being a bug anymore. Wanted Mom to change him into something else, like a Superhero. She told him he was a Superbug. And besides, it was too far to walk home to change. He pouted and wanted his sunglasses on. Mom told him now he was a Super cool bug. That didn't remove the pout but did get him in the door. Later on the way home he told Mom it was the best costume ever. He loved his bug costume and wanted to wear it again tomorrow. We'll see said Mom.

 

[yellowcanoe]

How cute is that? Remember to save the picture and pull it out in front of him and his friends say when he is 13

 

[Odyssey]

Thanks YC, your resizing link did the trick. (or treat.lol)

 

[Guest]

I’ve had Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever (which almost killed me), and Giardia (which made for a good malabsorption weight loss program).

Perhaps a bigger issue, one that specifically impacts travelling paddlers, is waterborne invasives. My local home river is trout stream that (in the last dozen years) has acquired rock snot (Didymo), and now New Zealand Mud snails, both area invasives. Most likely brought in on fishermen’s felt soled waders (not a big river, no powerboats anywhere in its drainage or reservoirs). There are now boot washing stations at every bridge crossing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didymosphenia_geminata

https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=1008

In the west, and elsewhere, the risks of spreading Zebra Mussels and Quagga Mussels is very real, and likely unstoppable*

The States and Provinces are serious about boat inspection stations. Yes, that means canoes and kayaks and probably paddleboards and folders and anything else that floats.

http://myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=46167

The last order I received from NRS included a “Clean-Drain-Dry” instructional postcard for cleaning and inspecting boats and gear. I had a conversation with NRS expressing my appreciation for that effort, and they are all-in on trying to educate paddlers about invasives and inspection stations.

Whether or not a canoe or kayak is likely to harbor mussels or snails or rock snot, etc doesn’t matter. The potential transport of invasives is now our business too. Pass a boat inspection station at your own risk. Actually, don’t; they may have your tag #, and the fine is considerable. And maybe don’t lie about how recently you used the boat, this crap is serious.

Recommended read on invasive species – The Death and Life of the Great Lakes (Dan Egan 2017).

That book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and chronicles the spread of invasive species in the Great Lakes (and elsewhere), starting with canal building in the late 1800’s and the introduction of sea lampreys, alewives, zebra and quagga mussels, toxic algae and more.

Egan’s writing style is reminiscent of John McPhee, introducing history, science, characters and unforeseen consequences in a fascinating and readably way.

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Life-Great-Lakes/dp/0393246434

*”Likely unstoppable”. That book also details the spread of Zebra and Quagga mussels from the Great Lakes, now found in too many western waters, including information about the various inspection station decon practices, and the near futility of even hot water power washing.

As an experiment a crew detail cleaned a houseboat using a hot water power washer. The next morning there were live Quagga mussels creeping out from under trim and between crevices.

Once Zebra and Quagga mussels get into the Columbia River drainage it is estimated to be a (multi) billion dollar problem. And it is only a matter of time.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Lyme and other tick borne diseases can be serious. Our latest concern is the Powassan virus yes from Ontario but it was discovered in 1958 so it did take its time. I used to live the next town over from Lyme CT and after 18 years never got it.. However my partner at work nearly died from it. ( not a paddler)
Boat inspection stations seem to be hit and miss.. We found two going coast to coast in Washington and Idaho.. Nothing in Alaska.. Nothing the last trip we made between Maine and Missouri two to three weeks ago. We expected to see some in Alberta and BC.. nope.

This essentially means we need to be vigilant about reading ALL road signs. This is not easy.

Maybe I will try and make a list of what jurisdiction requires you to stop for inspection.. Here in Maine there is none for paddlecraft. Yes at heavily used freshwater boat ramps for power boaters. A collegians summer job

 

[frozentripper]

MagicPaddler,

Do you suppose there are more animal borne diseases now because there are more animals around?

More animals around now... measured over what time frame? Maybe in the near-term, there are more animals now, like deer, starlings and carp. The degradation-tolerant ones that can withstand habitat loss and development pressure. The more sensitive species, like some songbirds, turtles, brook trout, and caribou are more likely to have declined or have disappeared, or have gone extinct.

The passenger pigeon, for example, blackening the skies by the milliions before being shot out entirely over all of eastern North America. Or if you read historical accounts like those by Lewis and Clark exploring rivers and landscapes in their natural state, often harvesting more than they could eat (I don't remember what they wrote about buffalo).... or with the accounts of the early French, filling their boats to the gunnels with cod from the Grand Banks, there is the sense that there was more wildlife around at the time.

Recent news reports are now saying that, globally, 60% of the world's wildlife has been wiped out since 1970... this includes both extinctions of sensitive species and sheer numbers of individuals. Interesting that the greatest declines have been in freshwater fish, and yup I agree, canoe trips are just not the same as they used to be when it's about that. .



https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/29/healt...ntl/index.html


https://nationalpost.com/news/world/...ays-wwf-report


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...ort-warns.html



PS... and Brazil's new President is now making moves to clear more of the Amazonian rain forest for farming, sensing competitive pressures from Asian agriculture, This is where some of the world's greatest biodiversity and production still remains undisturbed. Hey, it creates jobs.

 

[MagicPaddler]

MagicPaddler,



More animals around now... measured over what time frame? Maybe in the near-term, there are more animals now, like deer, starlings and carp. The degradation-tolerant ones that can withstand habitat loss and development pressure. The more sensitive species, like some songbirds, turtles, brook trout, and caribou are more likely to have declined or have disappeared, or have gone extinct.

The passenger pigeon, for example, blackening the skies by the milliions before being shot out entirely over all of eastern North America. Or if you read historical accounts like those by Lewis and Clark exploring rivers and landscapes in their natural state, often harvesting more than they could eat (I don't remember what they wrote about buffalo).... or with the accounts of the early French, filling their boats to the gunnels with cod from the Grand Banks, there is the sense that there was more wildlife around at the time.

Recent news reports are now saying that, globally, 60% of the world's wildlife has been wiped out since 1970... this includes both extinctions of sensitive species and sheer numbers of individuals. Interesting that the greatest declines have been in freshwater fish, and yup I agree, canoe trips are just not the same as they used to be when it's about that. .


PS... and Brazil's new President is now making moves to clear more of the Amazonian rain forest for farming, sensing competitive pressures from Asian agriculture, This is where some of the world's greatest biodiversity and production still remains undisturbed. Hey, it creates jobs.

Measured over the time frame that we have seen animal borne diseases increase. You seem to take offence at what I said in my post. Maybe you thought I was implying we should kill off the wild animals to get rid of the diseases. If so you are mistaken. We can only prevent these diseases from becoming human diseases if we understand how humans contract them. Yes it is a shame that passenger pigeons are extent but there was no passenger pigeons 60 years ago and there are none today so they have nothing to do with the change in animal borne diseases increasing today. I stand by my statement that we live around more wild life today than we did 60 years ago and it is a wider variety. I live in suburbia and every week there will be several skunks, opossum, foxes, and raccoons in my yard. In the near buy forest preserves there are also dear and a few bobcats and lots of beaver. You speak of extensions I do not believe there were large numbers of those animals around 60 years ago so I do not think they have anything to do with the increase in animal borne diseases. I did say that we hunted chicken eaters to extension and I do not think that was a good Stewart of the wildlife.

 

[memaquay]

Magic, I don't think Frozen was taking offence to your post. He was just stating what is commonly known...overall, around the world, animal populations are in sharp decline. In Northern Ontario, where I live, moose populations are crashing. Lots of speculation as to why, but most people in the know, as previously mentioned, think it is the brain worm carried by the deer who are moving north. Deer are routinely seen in my area, where 20 years ago, they were unheard of. Why are the deer moving north? Global climate change seems to be the answer, as vegetative zones from warmer climates continue to move north.

Perhaps, more accurately, animal populations in urban areas have increased, as animals have found ways to exploit urban centres. Racoons, coyotes, foxes, skunks are all examples of species that are doing very well in urban environments. Even deer have become a problem in some cities. Recently, I listened to a report on CBC radio about a large flock of wild turkeys who had taken over a neighbourhood in Ottawa, our capital city. Many residents were having huge problems, as the turkeys were attacking their children and old folks, and also decimating their property with foul turkey crap.

Worldwide though, animal populations are decreasing, as habitat is destroyed. Some animals take advantage of habitat destruction, but many cannot survive it. Woodland caribou are a prime example. As much as the forestry companies and MNR claim that their clear cutting methods emulate forest fires and are therefor supporting caribou habitat, the reality is that within the next 20 to 40 years in our area, there will only be a handful of woodland caribou left.

 

[frozentripper]

Yeah... no offence taken here, MagicPaddler, and none intended. Mem has already said what's at stake for me, much appreciated.

I could post more on the unprecedented and some say horrific wildlife and environmental declines, and all the doomsday news that's in the media these days, esp since it's mid-term election day in the states. Many feel that something has to be done, me, I'm not going there on these boards.

Have a great day, enjoy the paddling.

 

[yellowcanoe]

we have to consider habitat loss
Animals are showing up more in suburbia as they seek food and cover from humans. We have obliterated thrur bative habitat and they have nowhere to go
Witness the Florida bear situation near Orlando
Officials ib FL decided to have an open season for three days. Kill every bear you want. How idiotic