According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, in Maine alone last year 3,632 people were reported to have contracted Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, or babesiosis – all from the deer tick.

Patrick Higgins of Boothbay was among those Mainers last year. Most of us know him as Sgt. Higgins of the Boothbay Harbor Police Department where he has served for 28 years. Fortunately his family, wife Rachel and daughter Megan have not had the experience.

“I got pretty sick for two or three days in October after a tick got me,” he said. “And, as I learned later, that bull’s-eye rash or just a rash can take up to a month or more to show up - and it can be anywhere on your body. I went on antibiotic treatment and have been okay.”

But treatment wasn’t Higgins’ only response to his own experience with Lyme disease; he decided to take matters into his own hands and become a state-certified, commercial applicator who can treat outdoor properties.  And Midcoast Tick & Skeeter, LLC was conceived.

After his experience he spoke to many others in our region who have, had, or suffer recurring bouts of illness from tick bites, about how it was for them.

“There are people here who’ve been very sick that I spoke with at length who have considered extreme methods like hyperthermia treatments,” said Higgins.

Patients undergoing hyperthermia treatment experience their body temperature being raised to 106.4 degrees and kept there for up to six hours to kill viruses and bacteria lurking in their bodies. One destination for this treatment is Germany – to the tune of $30,000. (https://elemental.medium.com)

Higgins noted being told by some that they were misdiagnosed. As noted on the Mayo Clinic website, symptoms of Lyme disease show up within three to 10 weeks after being bitten. Stage 2 (also called early disseminated disease) is not only more serious, it is also widespread.

When he began studying, he said it blew his mind. “It was all far more extensive than I thought … species, life cycles, habitats. I thought ‘Oh my God.” But despite being overwhelmed, he persevered from November last to February (2023) and earned his master’s certification for tick and mosquito spraying.

Midcoast Tick & Skeeter will be using a non-toxic, eco-friendly blend of essential oils including cedar and peppermint and others to protect people and pets from these tiny beasts. And, the spray is National Organics Program compliant.

For properties up to one acre service is $110, and goes upward from there based on acreage.

“The eco-friendly treatments don’t seem to last as long, we’re talking more like three weeks than four,” Higgins said. “But the folks I’ve been talking to already don’t seem to mind. People just want to use as much of their yards as they can.”

If you’ve got “trespassers” of the tick and mosquito variety, give Midcoast Tick & Skeeter a call: 207-315-1991.