[pct-l] Ticks in SoCal

[jape1 at cox.net]

Someone posted:

<snip>
> Ticks will also be rare as you will spend very little time in the oak  
> woodlands they prefer. Ticks like a bit of moisture.

My experience has been different.  I have found the grasslands across the Warner Springs horseshoe, and the stretch from the top of Rodriquez Canyon to just before the flats leading to Scissors Crossing, both have a prime tick season. In the chapparel along the side of Granite Mountain, I collected 3 of the buggers in a seven mile stretch, and knocked a half dozen more off my pants.  In the meadow, it's possible to see them clinging to the ends of the grass blades, waiting for a cow or a hiker to wander by.

I've never been able to figure out the trigger for the tick "bloom", but would suspect that it's a combination of warmth and humidity.  Thank goodness that it doesn't last too long.

eckert