This commentary is by Jennifer Zwerling, a resident of Burlington.
Vermont has one of the highest rates of reported Lyme disease cases in the country. According to the CDC and VTlyme.org, the Lyme disease incidence rate in Vermont was 170.5 cases per 100,000 people in 2019, with the threshold for endemic status set at 10 cases per 100,000 people.
Larval ticks, which are always born uninfected, become infected after feeding on rodent species such as white-footed mice and chipmunks, natural reservoirs for Lyme disease bacteria. That infected tick may then go on to transmit Lyme disease to people.
Luckily, Vermont has an unsung hero of disease control in the red fox! These animals should be revered for the ecological services they provide, but sadly, they’re too often treated like vermin and enjoy few protections.
Expanding evidence suggests that increases in tick-borne illnesses may stem from a lack of traditional predators of mice and other rodents. And the interesting part is that not only do predators like foxes prey on mice, but their mere presence causes mice to scurry into their burrows and be less likely to infect ticks.
According to Dr. Tom Hofmeester’s study that focused on red fox and the role they play in mitigating the spread of Lyme disease, “the predators appear to break the cycle of infection.”
We value foxes for eating rodents, but too often they get a bad reputation when it comes to preying on some other animals, specifically chickens. Like all animals, foxes are interested in an easy meal, especially during this time of year when they’re tending to their young. It’s up to us humans to secure chicken coops with electric fencing and other protective measures.
Too many people are quick to kill foxes without addressing the root problem. Killing foxes may result in leaving young kits to starve in the den. Each year, volunteer wildlife rehabbers in Vermont take in orphaned fox kits after their parents were killed by humans.
Rather than killing every fox who is simply trying to survive, we humans should take the time to learn how we can coexist with these inherently harmless creatures that offer free rodent control.
Rats, for example, can cause tremendous problems for those who keep chickens. Without the free rodent control that foxes offer, some people may choose to use rodenticide, which not only kills mice, but kills all of those animals, including protected species like owls, who feed on the deceased rodents. Foxes, bobcats and other wildlife also suffer from rodenticide poisoning.
The best rodent control is to let nature do its job, since foxes eat hundreds of mice, as cited in Red Fox Diet — What Foxes Eat from Robin Page’s “A Fox’s Tale.”
Another threat to foxes are dogs that are allowed off-leash, including bear-hunting hounds, placing both adult foxes and their young at risk. There’s also a trapping season where foxes are lured to baited leghold traps, often resulting in their limbs being painfully crushed between the jaws of a trap.
It is crucial that we learn to coexist with foxes and other predator species, as they may be impacting our health for the better without us even realizing it. For tips on how to prevent conflicts with foxes, check out Got Chickens? Got predators. No problem!
“The takeaway is, we shouldn’t underestimate the role predators can play in reducing Lyme disease risk.” — Richard S. Ostfeld, senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
