(NECN: Alysha Palumbo – Brewster, Mass.) - Nickerson State Park officials say they normally shut down one of their seven campsites this time of year anyway because the busy season’s over. But this year there were so many deer ticks found here they locked down three of their campsites.
“It’s an unavoidable risk in this area,” said Kevin McNamara.
Kevin and Lisa McNamara live right next to Nickerson State Park in Brewster, Massachusetts.
They say they know the deer ticks have been prevalent this year and they understand the state’s decision to shut down nearly half of the park’s campsites to try to protect people from tick-born illnesses.
Lisa McMamara said, “Actually I think it was wise, just having a son who was so ill with Lyme disease.”
She says the symptoms were devastating.
Lisa McNamara said, “Oh my gosh, high fever, aches, I mean literally couldn’t get out of bed.”
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It’s a concern that swept this state park after several of the nymph and larvae-stage ticks were found here this summer.
“What people were finding at Nickerson is, they’re finding like hundreds of these larvae on their little kids,” said the Cape’s Deer Tick Program Coordinator Larry Dapsis.
Dapsis says there were a few factors that made this season worse than a typical year.
He said, “There were so many days above freezing last winter the ticks had many, many opportunities to get a blood meal and lay eggs and so we have probably had a ‘kagillion’ more eggs than normal that were laid and are hatching out now.”
And Dapsis says a small acorn crop last fall meant the tick’s favorite meal, mice, weren’t out as often feeding in the woods.
He said, “So with fewer mice that meant the ticks were out there for a longer period of time so it increased the probability that they were going to encounter an alternate host like a person.”
Department of Conservation and Recreation officials say while they closed the three campsites that were closest to the problem areas, people can camp in other parts of the state park, they just need to dress appropriately and check each other for ticks when they leave.
Dapsis said, “A disease like Lyme disease, the transmission is not immediate, it takes at least 24-48 hours of attachment before the risk of getting the transmission goes up considerably.”
DCR officials say they moved anyone who was supposed to be camping in any one of the three affected campsites and they gave refunds to any campers who didn’t want to move.
