Education key to combat tick diseases on Shelter Island

If you think you only need to protect yourself from tick bites in warm weather, think again.

That’s the advice from Scott Campbell, Ph.D., who is chief of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services Entomology Lab and a member of the Shelter Island Deer & Tick Committee.

Only when the temperature drops below 40 degrees are you likely to be safe from tick bites that can lead to serious illnesses, Mr. Campbell told the committee at its Nov. 5 meeting. That means you are susceptible during some part of every month since even during the winter there will be some relatively mild days when ticks are active.

Coupled with the almost constant presence of disease-carrying ticks has been a lack of sufficient tools to counter their numbers in recent years. After years of using 4-poster units — feeding stands that brush deer with a tickicide, permethrin — the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation banned their use a few years ago.

Another effective means of fighting ticks is to use hunters to take down deer on which the ticks feed. Until recently, the Island has been hobbled in that effort because of a lack of hunters.

But committee member Julia Weisenberg has locked on to what appears to be a solution to increase the number of hunters and the properties on which they can hunt on the Island.

Ms. Weisenberg is the head of the education arm of the Deer & Tick Committee and she began working with staff from Mashomack Preserve to teach students about the steps they need to take to avoid tick bites. She expanded her educational efforts by teaching archery, which resulted in a number of her students beginning to embrace bow hunting.

And this year has seen a major success in the selection of hunters and property owners willing to allow their properties to be hunted. Numbers provided by Beau Payne, a Police Department liaison to the committee, show an increase in hunters and deer taken by them.

Mr. Payne’s data showed that, as of the first month of recreational hunting in October, 26 deer were taken by eight hunters, compared with 15 deer taken by 10 hunters for the same month last year.

Thirteen of the deer were taken this year from six Town-managed properties, compared with seven during the same month last year.

The hunters were able to supply 183.6 pounds of venison available to residents without charge from a refrigerated unit at the Recycling Center. There was no record of venison being available in October of 2024.

Committee Chairman Dr. James Bevilacqua speculated that the increase in numbers could be because there are more deer on the Island this fall. But he concluded that the number of active hunters was likely a significant factor, and said the other contributing factor is proof women can do anything men can do and much better. His remark was aimed at complimenting Ms. Weisenberg, who has been developing close relationships with the hunters, accompanying them to provide her feedback, which has improved the larger number of deer they have been able to take, and assisting them to be more proficient.

She has also reached out to residents with properties that could be hunted and spent time with them to familiarize them with the techniques, safety measures and qualifications of the hunters.

Meeting with them, she’s described her role as “the handshake” between the hunters and land owners. Then she gets out of the way and lets the two sides get to know and trust one another.

The hunters have become her friends and colleagues and the property owners have expressed their gratefulness for the efforts to create the bond that has developed, she said. One landowner described the process as “absolutely wonderful” while another said the land would be available to the hunters as long as Ms. Weisenberg is in her position coordinating the program. Other statements described her as “a true asset to Shelter Island” and “a clear communicator.”

Two women who are part-timers on the Island and requested anonymity, spoke about their and other family members’ experiences, who have learned the hard way about contracting serious tick-borne diseases. They are encouraging more educational efforts for residents and visitors about steps necessary to avoid being bitten by ticks and the importance of telling doctors they see after returning from Shelter Island that they may have been exposed to tick-borne diseases.

There is material that will be distributed to residents now and in April as the weather warms and more people begin to return to the Island in the hope the information will help people avoid ticks. There’s also a booklet provided by the Stony Brook Southampton Deer & Tick Program that can be helpful, and information on the webpage to help people avoid tick bites, and how to respond if a tick-borne disease is suspected.