What could be more soothing than gardening your own cocoon of greenery?
Yet even in this vegetal "home sweet home", ticks are on the prowl.
A recent study by the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) confirms the importance of the risk of bites in gardens.
In 2020, a partly confined year, 47% of people said they had "caught ticks" in their private garden.
But even excluding Covid, this is the case for a third of the bites.
“This familiar environment is often perceived as less risky by individuals than outings in the forest,” emphasizes Pascale Frey-Klett, who coordinates the participatory research program Citique on the subject for INRAE.
Without becoming paranoid, you have to be aware of the risks and protect yourself from them.
This little creature that feeds on blood transmits Lyme disease in particular, which can cause muscle, neurological and joint damage, sometimes very disabling.
Anti-tick tactics
Not all gardens are created equal: if you are close to a forest, if there is wildlife (including birds or hedgehogs) in your paths, the risks are greater than in a central garden. -ville ... But in any case, you can arrange your garden at best. "Ticks are rather active in damp and cool places, it is better to avoid areas that are too wild, hedges and beds, or in any case places where the whole family goes the most" indicates Pascale Frey-Klett who recommends the installation of 'well cleared spaces.
If you live on the edge of a forest, fencing prevents the arrival of large mammals: deer and wild boar can act as smugglers and carry many ticks ... meter wide with plants spaced on dry mulch (bark) or gravel 'as a difficult buffer zone for the tick to pass through.
Avoid walking in the middle of tall grass, bushes and low branches and prefer marked paths.
Get out covered
Are the socks over the pants not very aesthetic? Certainly, but against ticks, the best option is to wear closed shoes and light-colored covering clothing, to better identify ticks on the surface of the fabric. The latter do not fall from the trees, most often they spend their life on the ground, jump on their hosts and climb little by little. It is for this reason that we protect the calves, including by spraying repellents available very easily in pharmacies.
It's not easy to cover yourself up when it comes to watering your geraniums or sunbathing in your own garden "We can at least do it when we go to the less frequented corners of our garden where the herbs multiply tall and dead leaves, ”points out Pascale Frey-Klett.
And then in case of picnic, providing a small mat or a sarong to isolate yourself from the ground can be a good idea.
Adopt a hen
Picoti, picota, the hen eats ticks in large quantities.
In addition to laying eggs and disposing of your waste, this terrible predator
will eat so many of these mites that it will drastically reduce the amount in your garden.
Of course, they must be in semi-freedom to be able to peck everywhere.
Also provide a sandbox or an area with soil for them to rub and clean.
If in doubt, I go to the doctor
Tick-tock, tick-tock, in the event of a bite, the bug must be removed as quickly as possible.
"The less time the tick stays attached, the less time it has to transmit viruses, parasites and bacteria" insists Sara Moutailler, research director at ANSES (national agency for food, environmental and health safety. job).
Even if you don't have a tick remover (2 to 4 euros in store), even if you don't know how to do it, you can use pliers or even your fingernails.
Above all, do not pull sharply but detach by turning (whatever the direction) to take off the mite which not only has stuck in your skin with its kind of beak but also secretes a kind of glue.
So take a good look, a tick looks like a mole but with four pairs of legs. You have to run your hand over the skin to find out, for example in the shower in the folds, knees, genitals or even on the scalp of children in particular. As an added bonus, you can advance science. First, by using the “Tick Signal” application, which has just been revisited. And by sending the tick by La Poste (All researchers - INRAE Nancy Grand-Est Laboratory - 54280 Champenoux).
Do not panic, the beast does not necessarily infect the human it bites but it is necessary to watch for possible symptoms for a few weeks; fever, flu-like condition… In the case of the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, a typical red mark in the shape of a target appears and then spreads around the bite. Report it to your doctor, he will prescribe antibiotic treatments.