A surprising group of hitchhikers were discovered by the 1st High River Scouts on a hike to Junction Hill Near Longview on April 6. 

Cub Leader, Michelle Parker (Mang) says it was a fairly challenging hike of 800 meters of elevation over ten kilometers, and a lot of ticks.

Scouters Rovers 1st High River Scouts Junction Hill APR12 001
1st High River Scouters and Rovers hiking Junction Hill near Longview

"We stopped for lunch, and we stopped somewhere in the sun because it was gorgeous, nice and hot, when eventually we realized we were surrounded by ticks...because it was in the sun and it was gorgeous, sunny and hot!"

Parker says what was unusual about the whole experience is the sheer number of ticks they encountered.

"This was definitely unusual, this was not as many as I have normally seen. One participant had about 20 of them on her, maybe more." Parker chuckled, and added "Ticks don't tend to bite right away, they tend to kind of climb on you and look for a nice warm, hot spot. You can typically see them ahead of time, if you're looking, so we just found a whole bunch of them and just brushed them all off and shook them all out."

Although it may seem early in the season for the spider-like parasites, Parker says they usually come out to feed at anything above four degrees.

"It's not a time thing, it's more of a temperature thing. I mean they're going to be starting to move, it's now above zero, and four degrees I think is the magic number!" Parker says "They're hungry, they're looking for food and of course there's a lot of wildlife in the area, and we were in their house!"

Certain types of ticks like the Deer Tick, or Blacklegged Tick can carry Lyme Disease, so it's important to use caution when in areas that are heavily wooded or have tall grass.

According to the Alberta Health Services website some things you can do to prevent bites are walking on cleared trails, wear light coloured clothing and expose as little skin as possible, tuck pant legs into socks and shirt bottoms into pants, and use a bug spray that contains DEET.

It's also important to check yourself, others and any pets that may have been in any wooded or grassy areas as well.

For information on how to remove ticks and treat bites, go to the Canadian Public Health Web page.