Dunes give ticks everything they need, including humidity and shelter. Being close to the edges between grassland and woodland also puts them right where host animals travel, so ticks are carried all over the area.
The dunes draw hikers and homeowners to Lake Michigan shoreline, and unfortunately, that very same shoreline happens to be ideal for ticks. There are a few reasons why this is the case and a few things you can do about it.
The first and most obvious problem is moisture. Ticks do not like dry conditions. They desiccate pretty readily without humidity, so they must seek damp shelter to survive between meals. The open sand bakes in the sun, but the dune swales and low pockets between ridges do not, nor does the leaf litter under the dune woodland. It stays cool and moist. So ticks tuck themselves into that layer in the heat of the day and climb the vegetation to wait for a host to walk by—hopefully, not you.
There is also the fact that the dunes are not so much a single place but a mosaic of places all at once. There is the beach grass, oak savanna, marsh, and woodland pressed upon one another. Ticks concentrate along the edges, the transition zones, where one habitat meets another. That gives them cover and positions them exactly where animals travel between zones.
The primary host for ticks is not humans. More common are white-footed mice and other small mammals found in great abundance in the dune underbrush, feeding larvae and nymphs. Deer also move through and feed the adults. The Indiana dunes also sit on a major bird migration corridor along the lake, and migratory birds drop ticks, sometimes carrying species in from elsewhere, as they pass through. A reliable host supply keeps the population self-sustaining.
If you live near the dunes, your yard probably shares some of the qualities described above. And if that’s the case, it helps to mow grass short and clear leaf litter. But if you find that the pressure coming in from outside your property is too great, you can always treat the barrier between your manicured lawn and the woods at large. This is a proven effective way to tell ticks to “get off my lawn.”
If you're tired of living with the tick load that comes with dune country, Mosquito Squad of Northwest Indiana can help. Mosquito Squad treats the leaf litter, brushy edges, and shaded zones where ticks shelter and wait, helping protect your family with up to 90% reduction in pest activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
