Ticks halt mail delivery

Residents of one scenic Beamsville neighbourhood were ticked this week to find that mail delivery to their community post box had been suspended, due to an infestation. They were instead told to pick up their mail at the post office. The problem appears to have been sorted out; but the neighbours still think they’re owed an explanation.

Ticks are in greater abundance this year; like other arthropods, they enjoyed the wet spring. Niagara Health says ticks should be extracted carefully with tweezers and brought in for testing. They say more than 80% of ticks they test are the American dog variety, which do not carry Lyme disease. Black legged or deer ticks are also around though, last year 14 people in Niagara were diagnosed with Lyme disease.

These bank of mailboxes backs onto a pond and is surrounded by Vineyards but neighbours still don’t understand why just this spot, on their well-groomed street was considered infested.

Canada Post workers searched each compartment in the bank of boxes and they then removed the infestation signs.