Nothing kills the joy of exploring the great outdoors like ticks, so in New York, they’re turning to an old ally to fight the scourge: bobwhite quails.
While the threat of ticks used to seem remote to most Americans, populations today now exist in all 50 states. Once attached to a human host, the small arachnids can transmit as many as 20 diseases, with Lyme disease the most well-known of the lot. The threat from ticks is now so great that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they are responsible for more emerging diseases than mosquitoes.
Quail eggs are being hatched as education projects at schools and then released into the wild to feast on their favorite treat, ticks.
Once common in the region, cats are to blame for cutting their numbers, so residents are encouraged to keep their bird-hunting pets indoors so the fowl can do their job.
Here’s a quick look at one project:
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