Do BC's arbutus trees harbour ticks?

Growing up we were always told to avoid arbutus trees because ticks made them their home and would even jump down on you from them. I never really did buy into this, and then later on I read ticks didn't jump down onto their hosts, but rather climbed to the tops of grass stalks and tried to get brushed off onto the legs of a passing host.

Does anybody know if there is any truth to this 'ticks-hang-out-in-arbutus-trees' myth? I'm referring to the arbutus trees of southern BC and the Gulf Islands.

 

These trees often occur with patches of salal beneath that impede movement of humans and animals; if there was some short specimens growing along a trail used by deer then there might be ticks on them. But I wouldn't expect a particular tendency for this tree to be favored by ticks. Deerbrush (Ceanothus) on the other hand, might have a highier than usual likelihood to be hosting ticks as it appears deer like to hide in it. Both my dog and I had wood ticks after walking just a short distance into an unusually (for this area) large solid stand of it along Hood Canal one time.

 

That makes sense --- any kind of vegetation can have ticks if the tick's hosts frequent the area its in.
In all the hiking I've done in southern BC I've never had a tick.
Good thing our mellow west coast ticks aren't Lyme disease carriers, or at least I've never heard of west coast ticks being carriers of Lyme disease. As far as I know it's only eastern north american ticks that carry it, but I'm no expert.