Pink-striped wildlife? It’s all in the name of tick-infestation research.
The Fairfax County Wildlife Biologist’s Office has deployed deer feeding stations as part of a study that looks at a new way to control tick infestations. When deer approach the stations to eat corn, they rub up against rollers that contain a pesticide as well as a non-toxic dye that will leave a pink streak, officials said.
The stations are set up at Sully Woodlands and Hemlock Overlook Regional Park and are expected to be used through 2015.
Deer are the primary host of adult blacklegged ticks, which can transmit diseases like Lyme disease to humans, officials said. So don’t panic if you see raccoons, squirrels and other animals with pink marks. They’ve just come into contact with a station that could help prevent residents from getting sick, Fairfax County officials said.
Officials said the dye fades in three to four days.
