1

ESTABLISHING A TICK REDUCTION PROGRAM 

IN A 4,000 RESIDENT RURAL TOWNSHIP

• DOCUMENT THE NEED FOR THE INITIATIVE

• INVOLVE APPROPRIATE ORGANIZATIONS

• PUT IN PLACE RESEARCH EFFORT – DETERMINE APPROACH

• RECRUIT ADVISORs, VOLUNTEERS & ESTABLISH TASK FORCES

• RESIDENT AWARENESS, INVOLVEMENT AND EDUCATION

• ORGANIZING THE EFFORT ACROSS THE TOWNSHIP, POLICIES AND RULES

• LONGTERM
Online Lyme Survey Form

LYME SURVEY FORM 2011

• Quick and Easy

• Room for as much input as a household wishes to give 

(Detailed accounts of up to 11 Lyme Incidents per household –

the maximum we have received so far)

• Results automatically recorded in spreadsheet which I can 

download from Google Forms

• I can edit the spreadsheet (for example to add a LWMU 

column)
Your Name

How many 

people are 

in your 

household?

How many 

or your 

household 

members 

have had 

Lyme? Street Address

LWM

U

Email 

Address

Will you 

help with 

the 

Public 

Informati

on and 

Phone 

Survey? 

Enter 

YES or 

NO

Will you 

help 

with our 

Tick 

Measure

ment 

program

? Enter 

YES or 

NO

Will you 

allow 

hunting 

on your 

property

? Enter 

YES or 

NO

If you already 

have hunters 

on your 

property, 

please list 

their names 

below.

If you are a 

hunter and 

are 

interested in 

hunting in 

the Township 

please enter 

YES below

Enter the total number 

of Lyme Incidents that 

your household has 

experienced

• So far about 150 households have responded

• About 400 individuals

• About 130 have had Lyme

• There have been approximately 225 Lyme Incidents

SPREADSHEET

• Introductory questions
SYSTEMATIC SURVEY IMPLEMENTATION DRIVE

Residents and Households in North section of Township 

Spreadsheets

• Resident Spreadsheet (683) – all residents, phone, email contacts

• Household Spreadsheet (296) – one entry per household

 Marker for households who have already filled out the form

 Marker for those who have volunteered to help get others to fill out form 

 44 respondent households

 241 left

 Household sheet continually updated; avoids repeating contacts 

• Systematic drive to get people to fill out the form begins next week
5

ESTABLISHING A TICK REDUCTION PROGRAM 

IN A 4,000 RESIDENT RURAL TOWNSHIP

• DOCUMENT THE NEED FOR THE INITIATIVE

• INVOLVE APPROPRIATE ORGANIZATIONS

• PUT IN PLACE RESEARCH EFFORT – DETERMINE APPROACH

• RECRUIT ADVISORs, VOLUNTEERS & ESTABLISH TASK FORCES

• RESIDENT AWARENESS, INVOLVEMENT AND EDUCATION

• ORGANIZING THE EFFORT ACROSS THE TOWNSHIP, POLICIES AND RULES

• LONGTERM
6

INVOLVE APPROPRIATE ORGANIZATIONS

• TOWNSHIP ADMINISTRATION

• CIVIC ASSOCIATION

• PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION

• USDA

• LDASEPA

• UNIVERSITIES
7

ESTABLISHING A TICK REDUCTION PROGRAM 

IN A 4,000 RESIDENT RURAL TOWNSHIP

• DOCUMENT THE NEED FOR THE INITIATIVE

• INVOLVE APPROPRIATE ORGANIZATIONS

• PUT IN PLACE RESEARCH EFFORT – DETERMINE APPROACH

• RECRUIT ADVISORs, VOLUNTEERS & ESTABLISH TASK FORCES

• RESIDENT AWARENESS, INVOLVEMENT AND EDUCATION

• ORGANIZING THE EFFORT ACROSS THE TOWNSHIP, POLICIES AND RULES

• LONGTERM
8

APPROACHES CONSIDERED

• Reduction of the Deer Population

• Damminix® Tick Tubes

• Personal Protection

• Spraying Property with Pesticides 

• 4 Poster Deer Feeders (Expensive)

• Bait Boxes (Unavailable?)

• Vaccination – Contraception (Not in PA) 

• Fungus (Still in Research)

• Domesticated Fowl (Probably not effective)
9

ESTABLISHING A TICK REDUCTION PROGRAM 

IN A 4,000 RESIDENT RURAL TOWNSHIP

• DOCUMENT THE NEED FOR THE INITIATIVE

• INVOLVE APPROPRIATE ORGANIZATIONS

• PUT IN PLACE RESEARCH EFFORT – DETERMINE APPROACH

• RECRUIT ADVISORs, VOLUNTEERS & ESTABLISH TASK FORCES

• RESIDENT AWARENESS, INVOLVEMENT AND EDUCATION

• ORGANIZING THE EFFORT ACROSS THE TOWNSHIP, POLICIES AND RULES

• LONGTERM
10

TASK FORCES

• Public Information and Survey Task Force

• Deer Control Task Force

• Deer Population Measurement Task Force with USDA

• Tick Measurement Task Force
11

TIM SMAIL - DEER CONTROL MANAGER

• The Wildlife Society, Member; PA Chapter, Life Member 

• Certified Weapons Instructor

• Boone and Crockett, Pope and Young, NA Shed Hunters Clubs

• National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association, Member, Official Measurer

• PA Game Commission Deer Management Working Group, Member

• PA Chapter Quality Deer Management Association, Founder, Director 

• PA Wildlife Leadership Development Committee, Member

• PA Wildlife Leadership Academy, Advisory Board, Resident Instructor

• Chester County Deer Forum, Co-Founder, Co-Facilitator, Consultant

• Chester County Coordinator, Hunters Sharing the Harvest 
12

ESTABLISHING A TICK REDUCTION PROGRAM 

IN A 4,000 RESIDENT RURAL TOWNSHIP

• DOCUMENT THE NEED FOR THE INITIATIVE

• INVOLVE APPROPRIATE ORGANIZATIONS

• PUT IN PLACE RESEARCH EFFORT – DETERMINE APPROACH

• RECRUIT ADVISORs, VOLUNTEERS & ESTABLISH TASK FORCES

• RESIDENT AWARENESS, INVOLVEMENT AND EDUCATION

• ORGANIZING THE EFFORT ACROSS THE TOWNSHIP, POLICIES AND RULES

• LONGTERM
RESIDENT AWARENESS, INVOLVEMENT AND 

EDUCATION

• Four updates per year in the Chadds Ford Times

• Presentations to the Supervisors and other local Organizations

• Invited Speakers

• Recruit volunteers, hunters and landowners

• Online Township Lyme Survey

• Website

• Mailings to all Township Residents

• Emailing

• Phoning

• Door-to-Door

• Respond in detail to all input
14

ESTABLISHING A TICK REDUCTION PROGRAM 

IN A 4,000 RESIDENT RURAL TOWNSHIP

• DOCUMENT THE NEED FOR THE INITIATIVE

• INVOLVE APPROPRIATE ORGANIZATIONS

• PUT IN PLACE RESEARCH EFFORT – DETERMINE APPROACH

• RECRUIT ADVISORs, VOLUNTEERS & ESTABLISH TASK FORCES

• RESIDENT AWARENESS, INVOLVEMENT AND EDUCATION

• ORGANIZING THE EFFORT ACROSS THE TOWNSHIP, POLICIES AND RULES

• LONGTERM
15

TICK REDUCTION PROGRAM MILESTONES

DETAILED INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT: 

http://the.chaddsfordcivicassn.org/

• Program inception: January 2007 

• Research Study and quarterly Public Report in The Chadds Ford Times: 2007 – 2011

• Website Constructed for assembly of all Research and Data

• Lyme Lecture in Township Building: 2009

• Tick Reduction Task Force Report is approved by the Civic Association Board and forwarded 

to the Board of Supervisors: October 2009

• Presentation to the Board of Supervisors: January 2010

• Approval of modified program by the Board of Supervisors: July 2010 
16

TICK REDUCTION PROGRAM MILESTONES

DETAILED INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT: 

http://the.chaddsfordcivicassn.org/

• Letter to residents outlining the reasons for the program and giving details about the upcoming 

Lyme Survey: August 2010

• First Meeting of Deer Control Task Force: August 6, 2010

• Tim Smail agrees to act as Deer Control Manager for Chadds Ford: August 2010

• USDA Measures deer population in Chadds Ford (140/sq. mile)

• Planning begins for sound Deer Control Management in the Township: August 2010

• Meeting for Landowners in Township Hall – room filled

• Meeting for Hunters in Township Hall – standing room only

• Overall Plan developed 
Total number of deer observed in 100-acre quadrants (white grid = quadrants, numbers in white circles = total deer observed) during two 

white-tailed deer density surveys completed by USDA APHIS Wildlife Services in Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, PA during 

September 2010.
18

ORGANIZING THE EFFORT ACROSS THE TOWNSHIP

• Master Landowner spreadsheet developed (Tax Lot Records + Registered Voters list) 

• Township divided into 12 LWMU 

• Master Hunter spreadsheet developed ~ 150 volunteers

• Voter list melded with Tax Lot listings. All lots assigned to their respective LWMUs

• Large scale Satellite Map generated from Google Earth

• Large scale Address map. Sub Division sections overlaid on Google Earth Map 

• Permission Document developed to act as Agreement between Landowner and Hunter. 

• Hunter Qualification procedures developed 

• On line Lyme Survey and “Will Permit Hunters” form developed 

• Initial focus Northern section of Township

• Volunteers (100), Hunter Managers (8) & Landowner Managers (8) identified

• Volunteers begin contacting residents to get more to fill out Survey

• First Hunter Qualification session completed
19
20
Long Term

21

• Annual Lyme incidence Survey

• Annual Deer Population Survey

• Annual Tick Survey

• Reduce the Deer Population to as near to 10/sq. mile as we can get

• Fully educate and inform our Residents, especially:

 Personal Protection

 Spraying Property with Pesticides

• Make Damminix® Tick Tubes available for purchase at the Township Building

• Keep track of new information and approaches 

• Encourage surrounding Townships to adopt similar approaches