WCBS 880 -- An environmentally-friendly way has been discovered to get rid of the tick population in a wooded area of New York.
WCBS 880’s Sophia Hall watched as 70 quail marched out of their cage one by one to go after the ticks at Hempstead Harbor Trail in Port Washington. Some paused for a moment and looked around, while others quickly took flight.
Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth explained that quail are natural predators to ticks, "That’s their natural diet. They eat insects,” she said. “Quails were indigenous to North Hempstead and then they died out, so we’re actually reintroducing a species that was here originally. And they’re not only going to eat ticks. They’re going to eat whatever they find.”
Bosworth added that the use of quail for tick control is environmentally friendly and involves no chemicals.
In the past the town has also foudn success in erecting bat boxes. Bosworth said the bats have been successful in decreasing the amount of mosquitoes in the area.