Weird & Interesting science, take 2

[robkelk]

Woodchips on hiking trails reduce tick populations

Spreading wood chips on two popular Ottawa hiking trails reduced the number of ticks on those trails by half.
Spreading wood chips treated with deltamethrin [*] on two popular Ottawa hiking trails reduced the number of ticks on those trails by 99%

Woodchips work to deter ticks because the tiny parasitic arachnids often climb vegetation (like grass) to latch onto hikers or their pets, [researcher Katarina] Ost explained. Placing woodchips on the trail prevents the vegetation they need to climb from growing.

"You definitely need a certain type of trail," Ost added.

"Those really wide, high use trails with high tick density are pretty suitable options for rolling this out in a slightly larger scale."

Obviously not a rigorous scientific study, but there's enough here to justify running a rigorous scientific study.

[*] Usually used for mosquito control.