What bugs/diseases/critters have ya'll seen that weren't around 30-40 years ago?

[etpm]

It falls under “diseases we didn’t see 30-40 years ago”, for those who recognize identification as something other than your *** at birth as a form of mental disease.

I don’t think the rare gene combinations you describe above can explain the apparent sudden rise in the number of people identified as male at birth, who now declare themselves female, or vice versa. What are the actual stat’s on that?

Number one, why do you care? Are they having *** with you? Are they using your genitals to have *** with someone else? Number two, *** is obviously not just genetic but also has something to do with our brains. That is why ****** attraction is not purely binary. Or genetic. Frankly, I'm done with this conversation. There is no way I can convince you to think other than you do.
Eric

 

[kenmbz]

Turkey vultures are an everyday sighting here. Too many deer hit by cars, because too many deer.

See lots of that garlic mustard, started showing up 2 years ago.

 

[CliffordK]

When I was a kid I knew about ticks, but they just seemed rare.

Today... I don't get them on myself much, but the dog is a tick vacuum.

I don't know if something changed with the distribution, or if we've changed where we are going for recreation.

 

[WinterDeere]

I don't get them on myself much, but the dog is a tick vacuum.

All of my neighbors complain about the ticks, both for themselves and even moreso for their dogs. We don't seem to have as many in our own yard, but I did have one dog catch lyme disease back in 2016, or thereabouts. She actually died from the resulting liver damage in 2018, so it is something to be mindful of.

 

[John_Mc]

When I was a kid I knew about ticks, but they just seemed rare.

Today... I don't get them on myself much, but the dog is a tick vacuum.

I don't know if something changed with the distribution, or if we've changed where we are going for recreation.

Their range has changed dramatically. When we first moved to Vermont 24 years ago, they were around, but we rarely had a problem with them. If you asked your doctor to be tested for Lyme or anaplasmosis, the would ask “why? Have you been traveling out of the area?”

These days, I never go out to work in the woods during tick season (which seems to be taking up more and more of the year) without wearing permethrin-treated clothing or taking other precautions (DEET or Picardin).

 

[ponytug]

Plus, in many areas hunting pressure has decreased and there are more animals (e.g. deer, but not only deer) for ticks to feed upon.

Stay safe out there!

All the best, Peter

 

[thclimer]

Fire suppression has contributed to the spread of tics as well. The lack of fire encourages the habitat (grasses, leaf litter, brush) that ticks need for their life cycle as well as their host (mice, deer).

 

[JeepHead]

Alpha-Gal Syndrome seems to be effecting a lot of people in my area. I have had several friends diagnosed with it in the last few years.

 

[jmc]

Alpha-Gal Syndrome seems to be effecting a lot of people in my area. I have had several friends diagnosed with it in the last few years.

I got it in 2020 but not diagnosed until 2024. Local allergist said then that he sees 2 new cases a day. Nasty hives bad enough to not just eat as you wish and then "tough it out". If I were in the red meat industry, I'd be watching for an epidemic.

Front of elbow:

 

[JeepHead]

I got it in 2020 but not diagnosed until 2024. Local allergist said then that he sees 2 new cases a day. Nasty hives bad enough to not just eat as you wish and then "tough it out". If I were in the red meat industry, I'd be watching for an epidemic.

Front of elbow:View attachment 4311383

Wow! I am not surprised they're seeing two a day because it's alarming how many friends I see that have it and new ones posting they were just diagnosed with it. Looks like you are located near me as well.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Turkey vultures are an everyday sighting here. Too many deer hit by cars, because too many deer.

See lots of that garlic mustard, started showing up 2 years ago.

Our vultures migrate. They have all moved south for the winter.

 

[JeepHead]

Our vultures migrate. They have all moved south for the winter.

That's wild! Here in Indiana, the vultures stay year around.

 

[WinterDeere]

That's wild! Here in Indiana, the vultures stay year around.

Same here, I think... but now Larry's going to have me watching the skies all winter, this year!

I watch the Canada geese migrate, and many other smaller birds quietly disappear, only to re-appear in spring. But I'll have to admit I never noticed what our giant and numerous turkey buzzards do, all winter. Having never specifically noticed them being gone, I suspect they probably hang around, like @JeepHead's.

 

[kenmbz]

The vultures are here all winter, we see them all the time.
Some of the Canada geese now stay too due to finding fields with running fountains perfect for them.
What a nuisance.

 

[WinterDeere]

What a nuisance.

I'll take Canada Geese over vultures or buzzards! I used to spend most weekends sailing at Nockamixon, and the turkey buzzards would just love to perch on top of sailing masts, which created two problems:

1. Those birds are effing huge, like a Beagle with wings, and they'd actually break wind vanes and other mast heads, due to their weight and hard landings.

2. They'd crap all over your boat, while perched on the mast. And this isn't the nice lilly-white crap of a Blue Jay, it'd be big bloody dog turds, all over your boat deck or cover every Saturday morning!

The geese do tend to leave huge minefield swaths of their turds on the lake shores, probably worse at Galena than Nockamixon, but at least that's not coming at you from above! And they're not covered with or filled with blood, like the buzzards.

Speaking of vultures and sailboats, I remember seeing a deer get hit on Mountain View Drive (Rt. 563) on my way to a sailing race one morning, freshly killed around 9am. By the time I passed it on my way home around 2pm, it was a stripped-clean skeleton on the shoulder of the road! Those birds work fast.

 

[ponytug]

@WinterDeere Yea, the recycling program is pretty quick around here, too. Between the coyotes and the turkey vultures, carcasses turn into skeletons very quickly. Then the yellow jackets take over and two days later it is hard to see even a trace of muscle or fat left.

I'd forgotten what the buzzards used to do sailboats, but, yes, I remember some of the vile messes left behind. I love what the do for nature, but like hyenas, I have a hard time warming up o them as close friends.

All the best, Peter

 

[Engineer42]

Probably been mentioned, but stink bugs!

 

[lman]

That's wild! Here in Indiana, the vultures stay year around.

Not in northern Indiana. The eagles take over as scavengers after the buzzards migrate.

 

[Jstpssng]

probably hang around, like atJeepHead's

This isn't the way you meant it, yet it does read that way.

 

[John_Mc]

I'd forgotten what the buzzards used to do sailboats, but, yes, I remember some of the vile messes left behind. I love what the do for nature, but like hyenas, I have a hard time warming up o them as close friends.

Where do you live that you have to worry about Hyenas?