A recent edition of the online newspaper, Barrie Today, reports that active surveillance in 2018, by the Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit, has found blacklegged ticks in the Amos Tract, part of the Copeland Forest. Blacklegged ticks may be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
The Amos tract runs west off the 5th Concession of Oro-Medonte, and is literally in our back yard! Please take appropriate precautions if you are walking, hiking, birdwatching, hunting, or mountain biking, etc. in the Copeland Forest or other areas within a 20 Km radius.
Here is the link to the most recent edition of an excellent 8-page brochure, on ticks and Lyme disease. It is written by John D. Scott, one of Canada’s foremost Lyme disease researchers: http://lymeontario.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Lyme-Disease-In-Ontario-Brochure-Sept-2018.pdf