Huh! Deer weren't the problem after all! UPDATED

I heard a teaser on the radio for tonight's news. Channel 11's Peggy Finnegan is doing a segment on Japanese barberry and its connection with deer ticks.

Doing some research, Japanese barberry is listed as an invasive species. It squeezes out native plants. It is so hearty that it can grow in full sun, shade, and even parking lots. It is also deer resistant. In this community, there is a fallacy that deer spread Lyme disease. As it turns out, Japanese barberry creates the perfect environment for ticks.

The prevalence of ticks infected with the Lyme disease–causing spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi) is greater in areas with Japanese barberry than areas without.

I am commonly referred to as the crazy deer lady in Mt. Lebanon, but as I have been saying for years, mice and rats are the main culprits for spreading Lyme Disease. More bunk about ticks, deer, and Lyme Disease 

Japanese barberry and ticks

White-footed mice and other rodents are important vectors for immature ticks, and are the primary sources for a tick larva’s first blood meal. Mice thrive in stands of Japanese barberry; the dense, impenetrable stands protect them from predators and provide optimal nesting sites.

Maybe our commissioners are the real crazy deer people. Open your eyes, Guys. You have been dead wrong all along.

More bunk about ticks, deer and Lyme Disease

John Shumway interviewed someone from Ehrlich Pest Control in Peters Township in his report,  Expert Offers Tips For Protecting Against Ticks & Lyme Disease.  Dr. Gore claims:

Deer are their [ticks'] favorite mode of transportation. “They are a huge mammal that goes through the woods and grasses,” says Dr. Gore, “and they’ll pick up and drop off ticks all over the place.”

Mr. Shumway, when you interview an exterminator about ticks, he is going to tell you to that "hiring a professional to treat your yard for tick prevention may be the most effective line of attack, but there are products you can buy to treat your own yard." On the PA Game Commission's website, you will learn that "There is no clear relationship between deer density, tick abundance, and Lyme disease incidence." Lyme Disease & Deer Revelation or Red Herring  Rats, mice and chipmunks are the main carriers.

Your report says that you were in Peters Township, but you close with, "In Mt. Lebanon, John Shumway KDKA News." Did the Mt. Lebanon pro deer killers have anything to do with that? Why are you perpetuating a myth about deer and lyme disease? I know that the deer haters have been submitting some pretty nasty comments about Sandy Baker who is coming to Mt. Lebanon this weekend.