What's Bugging You?

 

Our lab is conducting a survey and you are invited to participate!

You are invited to take part in a survey to help us learn more about what people know and think about diseases that are spread by ticks and mosquitoes. This study is being conducted by the researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School on the Duluth Campus. The goal is to understand how people feel about these diseases and how much they know about how to protect themselves.  

 

What is the Purpose of the Study?

The purpose of this survey is to learn more about:

• What people know about tick and mosquito-borne diseases.
• People's attitudes about tick and mosquito-borne diseases.
• How people protect themselves from these diseases.

We will collect answers from Minnesota and Wisconsin residents aged 16 and up who visit the Minnesota State Fair or the Beltrami, Rock, and Cass County Fairs in 2025, as well as from those who complete the survey online at the Ixodes Outreach Project website. We expect about 1200 responses to the survey. These data will be presented at conferences and published, but not directly shared with participants.

 

What Will You Be Asked to Do?

If you agree to participate, you will answer a series of questions about your knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about tick and mosquito-borne diseases. The survey will take about 10 minutes to complete.

The questions will ask about things like:

• Your general knowledge of how these diseases spread.
• Your thoughts on the risk of getting diseases from ticks and mosquitoes.
• The actions you take to avoid these diseases.

 

Voluntary Participation

Taking part in this survey is completely up to you. 

 

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this survey or about your rights as a participant, you can contact us at:

• Email: smoni002@d.umn.edu
• Phone: 218-726-7911

 

Click here to view more information and/or complete the survey

 

Lyme Disease lecture at UMD today!

 Lyme Disease:  The Mystery of a Hidden Pandemic

Dr. Benjamin Clarke is presenting a live lecture this evening at the University of Minnesota Duluth.  This event is free to the public, although pre-resgistration is appreciated.  Free parking is available in Gold Lot A adjacent to the med school.  More details about UMD parking is available at the UMMS Classrooms Website under the Parking and Maps tab.

 

Lecture logistics:

Tuesday, March 11, 2025 
5:00-7:00 pm
Medical School, Duluth campus
1035 University Drive, Room 142
Duluth, MN 55812

 

Want to learn more?  

Check out this news clip from WDIO-TV on Friday, March 7th.

A little humorous; A little educational

Happy Monday Ixodes Outreach readers! The YouTube channel zefrank1 recently posted a video about Ixodes ticks — that is, deer ticks. You know, the ticks that carry Lyme disease. Defintely a chance to laugh while you learn about the life cycle of the Ixodes tick!

 

All credit to zefrank1 and those that provided the excellent videos of ticks through their life cycle!

Post by: M. Bergquist

Have you seen your first 2021 tick?

 Perfect Duluth Day posted the first tick sighting of the year on March 14th.  

IOP 2020 Field Research Report

2020 Ixodes Outreach Project Report

Field Research Report 

In 2020 the Ixodes Outreach Project staff conducted two active field research projects in Carlton County, MN.  Our first was a typical tick drag, where our lab staff pull a weighted cloth through a predetermined area, called a transect, while walking a measured path.  Every 10 meters, the cloth is examined to see if any ticks have grabbed on.  Check out a short video of what a tick drag looks like:

 

We monitored the transect from April through October.  Over all we found 84 ticks and 18 of them were Ixodes scapularis, the tick that can transmit the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease.  The bulk of those I. scapularis ticks were caught between late April and early June, with the peak being the 3rd week of May.

We also experimented with a new tick collecting method, a dry ice trap.  Ticks are believed to be able to sense carbon dioxide exhaled by potential prey.  The carbon dioxide gas released as dry ice melts is thought to be a way to attract ticks searching for a meal.  We tested two different styles of trap, and appeared to have relatively equal success.  Our trapping process was started later in the summer, so we missed peak tick season, but ticks are out until snow falls again.  And, indeed we did catch several ticks in September and October with our traps.  

Two different trap designs

Male Dermacentor variabilis tick caught on tape used to hold trap fabric in place

Next year we plan to experiment with other carbon dioxide releasing methods in hopes of developing an inexpensive trapping method that can be used more frequently and at multiple locations.  Stay tuned in 2021 to see how this project unfolds!

Post by C. Fisher

IOP thanks you, community contributors!

 

2020 Ixodes Outreach Project Report

Community Contributions

 

    One of our projects at the IOP is to create a story map that documents where ticks are being found.  Thanks to our community contributors in 2020 we collected 152 ticks from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.  Ticks were primarily Ixodes scapularis and Dermacentor variabilis adults, but we did receive three I. scapularis nymphs from Minnesota.

    Eventually, tick submissions will be "pinned" to our story map so the community can see geographically where these ticks were found.  You can check out the 2018/2019 tick data on our story map here.

    These ticks are currently chilling at a frosty -80 degrees Celsius.  But, during the next several months our team of seven undergraduate researchers will be using them in several projects.  Some ticks will be tested for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, while others may be used in tests designed to investigate the variety of microorganisms inside the tick gut.  Studying the array of microorganisms inside the gut of the tick may help scientists better understand what competition or advantages await B. burgdorferi bacteria after being ingested during a bloodmeal.  It may also give insight into the risk of co-infection in humans and domestic animals as the result of a tick bite.  Some ticks may also be used for practicing and refining lab techniques or for other teaching purposes.

    No matter how these ticks are ultimately used, it is all possible due to the efforts of our community contributors, so hats off to you all!  

    With our thanks,

The Ixodes Outreach Project team

 

 

 

If you would like to submit tick specimens please seal your tick(s) in a Ziploc style baggie and mail them to:  

Ixodes Outreach Project
University of Minnesota Duluth
Department of Biomedical Sciences/SMed 332
1035 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812

 

Post by C.Fisher

Rising temperatures may affect ticks' appetite for humans

According to a recent article by Tiffany Dazet on labroots.com, research led by Laura Backus, MPH DVM, at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, showed that when temperatures increased from 74 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, a species of brown dog tick from tropical climates were 2.5 times more likely to feed on humans than dogs.  In studying brown dog tick species from temperate climates, ticks appeared to show only a slight preference for humans but, on the other hand, showed a markedly lower preference for dogs.

To read more about Dr. Bakus' research and to watch a video from Live Science which recaps the the study, click here.