Community Corner

New Tick Legislation Passes in County Legislature

The plan will not go into effect until 2015.

New legislation that calls for construction of a plan to combat tick-borne disease passed the Suffolk County Legislature on Tuesday.

The vote for the legislation, which was authored by Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman and co-sponsored by Legislator Al Krupski, passed by a vote of 16-0-1-0, with one abstention.

“The number of Lyme Disease cases on the East End is alarming, which demands a regional approach," Schneiderman said. "This bill requires the County to develop and implement an action plan to reduce the incident of tick-borne illnesses. The County already does this successfully for mosquito-borne illnesses such as West Nile virus."

Krupski explained Friday that the county's vector control plan for 2014 has already been completed, so the goal is to implement a new plan for 2015.
Kruspski believes the answers begin with addressing the burgeoning deer population.

"Any pressure that we can put on the state to give us more control of deer is a good thing," Krupski said. "We're not going to start spraying for ticks like we do for mosquitoes, so we need to work on controlling the deer."

The new bill charges the county’s Vector Control division with the task of coming up with a yearly plan to control the tick population.

Sponsors of the bill are concerned that tick-related diseases, such as Lyme and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, are on the rise, particularly on the East End. They say Vector Control has been paying too much attention to mosquito-borne illnesses like West Nile and not addressing the spread of ticks in the county.

Under the proposed legislation, Vector Control would be required to outline the steps it is taking to reduce incidents of tick-related illness, the work it will be conducting, its methodology and the methods.

“Lyme disease is an epidemic on the East End of Long Island,” Krupski said. “Most of us have been impacted in some way by tick-borne disease. Suffolk County needs to play an active role to control this growing health problem.”

Shelter Island and North Haven are already exploring the “4-Poster” system, which is a method to attract white-tailed deer to feeding stations, thereby concentrating their population. Deer ticks are primarily associated Lyme, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Ehrlichiosis and Babesiosis.

Recently, a deer forum was held in Southold Town to address the tick-borne illnesses on the rise in the area due to the growing deer population; there are 3500 deer in Southold Town alone, official said.

The county division of Vector Control is part of the Suffolk County Health Department and operates on a yearly budget of $2.5 million. According to the county, Vector Control was initially created to focus on both mosquito and tick-borne illnesses. 


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