If you look under any oak tree in the Chicago area, you can’t miss all the acorns underneath.
"There are a lot of different types of nut bearing trees that are having a bumper crop this year,” said Murphy Westwood, VP of Science and Conservation at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.
Ecologists call it a “mast year” and the bounty of nuts has a domino effect on the ecosystem.
“These acorns, they're incredibly nutritious, and all the critters that feed off of these — the chipmunks, the deer, the turkeys, the mice — will have bigger litters next year because they have a ton of food, a ton of nutrients and resources this year,” Westwood said.
Westwood said bigger “critter” litters in 2024 will lead to more ticks in 2025.
“You can pretty much map out an increase in small mammals, deer and mammal numbers one year out and then the number of ticks two years out,” Westwood said.
More ticks can lead to more tick-borne illnesses.
“The most common one, of course, is Lyme disease. But in the state of Illinois, we can also see Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, we also see Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis,” said Mary Anderson, an infection control manager with Edward-Elmhurst Health.
Anderson said most symptoms for tick-borne disease are the same.
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Symptoms can include fever and chills, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, sometimes joint aches. Some of those diseases also cause rash. Of course, Lyme disease is infamous for the bullseye rash. That's the ring formed around the site of the tick bite, but some of the other tick borne illnesses can cause more widespread rashes,” Anderson said.
That’s why if you’re headed outside, it’s essential to wear long sleeves and pants, use insect repellant and also check for ticks upon returning indoors.
“I think awareness is key. And if people are prepared and understand the risks, then they're better able to protect themselves,” Anderson said.
Westwood asks that you don’t blame the trees for more ticks.
“This mast year is really an important adaptation that nut trees have evolved to make sure that they have seedlings that grow to the next generation,” Westwood said.
One large oak tree can drop more than 10,000 acorns and it’s not just oaks that are masting this year, but hickory trees, walnuts and other nut trees as well.
“We've been losing our oaks across the Chicago region over the past many decades. So these mast years are incredibly important to regenerate our native oak species which are so important to our nature and our urban nature around us,” Westwood said.
