Extreme cold unlikely to kill ticks before spring, Dill tells BDN

Griffin Dill, an integrated pest management specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Bangor Daily News for the article, “‘Bone-chilling’ weather unlikely to kill off ticks before spring, researchers say.” Experts agree that it’s unlikely sub-zero temperatures and blizzards will cause any significant decline in Maine’s tick population, according to the article. “From what we’re finding, even with these persistent below-zero temperatures, it’s staying 25, 30, as high as 35 degrees down close to the ground,” Dill said. “If we have the ticks covered by leaves and covered by a foot or so of snow, chances are, even with these persistent cold temperatures, they’ll be relatively unharmed.” If Maine wasn’t covered in snow, it’d be another story, Dill said. “If the ticks were completely exposed, these temperatures of zero or 5 below or 10 below would certainly be sufficient to kill a number of ticks,” he said.