Update: Today’s news [https://news.err.ee/1609031588/cases-of-lyme-disease-have-increased-dramatically-over-the-past-year](https://news.err.ee/1609031588/cases-of-lyme-disease-have-increased-dramatically-over-the-past-year)

​

I have lived in Estonia for many years now and considered Tallinn city to be tick free. To my disbelief, I was wrong – multiple studies have shown that ticks reside in several parks, zoo and green spaces in the city.

Here’s a study done in 2021 [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351865808\_Ticks\_and\_tick-borne\_pathogens\_in\_popular\_recreational\_areas\_in\_Tallinn\_Estonia\_an\_underestimated\_risk\_of\_tick-borne\_diseases/link/60adecbfa6fdcc647edb7aee/download](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351865808_Ticks_and_tick-borne_pathogens_in_popular_recreational_areas_in_Tallinn_Estonia_an_underestimated_risk_of_tick-borne_diseases/link/60adecbfa6fdcc647edb7aee/download)

Here’s a news report: [https://news.err.ee/1609015712/hundreds-of-ticks-lurking-in-tallinn-s-green-areas](https://news.err.ee/1609015712/hundreds-of-ticks-lurking-in-tallinn-s-green-areas)

Summary:

“Zoo, Open Air Museum and Pirita forest park, which are situated in large urban parks with areas similar to natural environments with a variety of small- and medium-sized animal species living there – showed signicantly higher tick abundance rates compared to those, similar in vegetation but poorer in animal species and more fragmented in size (Sanatooriumi park, Järve forest health trails, Harku-Nõmme and von Glehni park). As a contrast, the carefully managed Kadriorg park, the largest and most popular park in Tallinn with many mowed open areas, but also rich in landscapes and plant communities with oak and chestnut trees, where rodents, hedgehogs, squirrels and various migratory bird species are abundant, as well as small, well-maintained parks with regularly mowed open grass, such as Hirve and Toompark located in the city center, were extremely poor habitats for Ixodes ticks. ”

​

I don’t want to start a vaccine debate but do consider getting a shot!

​

by Thick-Ad-6366

15 comments

  2. Holy fuck, tegelt ka on looduses putukaid veel alles või. No kurat, monsanto võta kokku ennast

  4. What’s to debate? If you want to hang out in nature and don’t want Lyme disease, get a vaccine.

  6. What a surprise – there are bugs in the grass. Who would have known…

  7. Mida vähem linde ja muid kiskjaid, seda rohkem puuke. See, et puuk lühikese muru sees ei ole, on müüt. Ainuke asi, mida lühike muru teeb, on puugi leidmise kuldnokale lihtsamaks. Puugil endal on suva, kas ta istub 3cm või 50cm kõrre peal.

  8. pros of living in estonia: nature is much closer to you than in some other country. cons: sometimes the nature contains ticks or other nature-specific creatures.

  9. No place in Estonia is tick free. Where there is nature, there are ticks. You can groom the park as hard as you like, but unless you saturate it with pesticides, you are going to meet some wildlife that will want your blood and carry diseases. You cannot really have extensive greenery without it. I have ticks in my yard which is precisely why I make sure to put out many nesting boxes, and accept that birds will sometimes eat my cultivated berries. They help with the bug population.

  10. OP, how do you imagine parks to be tick free? It’s nature 😅Or what’s the problem here. You claim you’ve lived here for many years. How were you not aware about ticks and their diseases? Or should Tallinn burn the park a bit every spring for good measure (fire did help back in the day when it wasn’t banned…).

  11. Ticks are everywhere, but because there are more people in and around Tallinn, they get reported there more.
    And yes, get a vaccine!

  12. Yep, just get the vaccine and check yourself after spending time in nature. The ticks are everywhere, no big deal, we don’t have many dangerous species.

  13. Of course, I am vaccinated against encephalitis, I have some friends who have had really serious complications from tick- carried disease. However, you still need to check yourself after being in garden, park or woods, even if you are vaccinated, as there is no vaccine against borelliosis and the complications may be severe.

  15. I know 3 persons who have gotten the Lyme’s disease this june. :/

Leave a Reply