BTW, deer do not play a unique part in the cycle of Lyme Disease. They are merely hosts at the same time that we, some domestics and about 30 species of wild animals are also hosts. The reservoir animals for Lyme Disease are ground nesting rodents, and there is currently some research going on to see if if it might be possible to decrease the disease in that reservoir using medicated bait. Over 800 tick species world wide (which seems very low considering how old ticks are). Canada is considered a country with few at only 40 species. http://res2.agr.ca/ecorc/ti/index_e.htm The site below has some interesting info on ticks and tick borne diseases http://home.earthlink.net/~webmedic4u/ticks.html Tick Paralysis in the U.S. -- something for people in those areas to consider in relation to their ferrets as well as themselves: chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/documents/FACT/18-017-0105.pdf info on the 5 types of ticks most commonly found in the national parks of the U.S. http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/ipm/manual/ticks.htm and http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/articles/grants/reports/1426/ includes >Some 22 species of hard ticks and three argasids are present in >mainland Britain and its islands. Most are parasitic on mammals >including farmed livestock, with at least 12 species parasitizing >birds with two regularly found on reptiles. Almost all species of >tick in Britain appear capable of transmitting a range of diseases >to livestock and household pets... [Posted in FML issue 4840]