by mike » Wed May 09, 2012 11:10 am
Deer ticks need mice, voles, chipmunks, and other small rodents to survive. For the most part the Catskill Mountains are devoid of these small rodents. This is the reason why deer ticks are not running rampant in the Catskill Mountains. If you go from the Eastern Escarpment to the Hudson River, the amount of deer ticks is staggering. I work on the Eastern Escarpment, and I can tell you that they are horrible down in the valley.
So, as a general rule there are "no" deer ticks in the Catskill Mountains. Since Deer are migratory and there are pockets of rodents in places, it is possible to find deer ticks in select locations. But, you will not find populations like you find in the Hudson Valley. Right now they are starting to show up on the Eastern Escarpment, but the populations and locations are very small. As you get towards the western catskills, you will start to find more rodents, and more deer ticks. So, I am not surprised that you picked a few on Slide. We have been hearing from people that there some around Slide.
One other wild-card in this situation is that since the Snow Storm of March 2010, many of the Bobcats, coyotes, and fox populations have been dramatically reduced. This has allowed the rodent populations to start growing back in the Catskill Mountains. This is something that hasn't happen in 100 years. With the increase in rodents, we will start to see a slight increase in deer ticks.
So, the term "no" deer ticks really means that they don't occur often in the Catskill Mountains when compared to the Hudson Valley. For every deer tick you find in the Catskill Mountains, you will find 1,000 deer ticks in the Hudson Valley. I think that this is what Mtnclimber was trying to say. Maybe we have to clarify this more in the future.