tags by @eatyourdamnpears
Yes, what really infuriates me, is when those posts will mention ticks, then wave them off. like go 'oh these dumb people think any taller grass is a danger to neighborhood aesthetics and full of tics' as if the two are in any way equivalent, and then, cruelly and dangerously, leave it at that, as if ticks are a made up problem. or they'll use their image in their memes as a boogeyman then ignore any concerns.
My point isn't AT ALL 'lawns are better because ticks', there can be a middle ground. There are things like bug spray and ultrasonic repellent devices, neither of which are 100% effective, so the most important thing is always looking over yourself/your family, especially on your scalp, after you've been in a risky area. Lyme is stored in ticks' intestines, not their saliva, so if the tick is removed within a day or two, the risk of infection is low. I know someone who sent a tick for testing, and it came back positive for lyme, but since they removed it fast, they don't have it (had every test possible) however other tick-borne diseases like encephalitis (brain inflamation, sometimes deadly) are in their saliva and will infect you immediately, so I absolutely don't want you to think it's fine to get ticks as long as you get rid of them fast. it's better to get rid of them fast, send them for testing, and probably get on preventative antibiotics for a couple of weeks, because if caught early, lyme is treatable, even curable.
So it's all about a reasonable balance. Yes we need to restore biodiversity, but it's not without risks. is the lawn somewhere children play unsupervised every day? Somewhere you often walk barefoot? do you live in an at-risk area, or near woods with wild animals like deer who can infect ticks? then keep it to short grass. Conversely, large swathes of unused land, or tiny patches of decorative grass in the middle of a city that no one ever walks on, hiking spots where you only go with appropriate gear and bug spray, maybe even a designated spot in your backyard if you live far from wild animals, can and should be used to restore native plants as tall as you wish.
Also I would love it if people who don't have lyme actually reblogged this too lol. This is a horrendous illness, that affects every part of your body, that ruined my life and killed comrade leslie feinberg, and you need an appropriate level of fear to stay safe from it.
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