Click here to experience life from the perspective of the Lyme disease tick in early spring. Discover where this tick lives, when it may be active and how it finds you and your pets to take a blood meal!
Thank you to Dr. Maria Murgia, Tick INsiders Lead Scientist, Microbiome Studies for leading the production of this video, which was featured on Digital Bug Bowl 2021: Community Science Day.
A reminder that the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) that transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever becomes active as temperatures increase over the spring and summer. Members of the Tick INsiders team collected several American dog ticks early April from parks in northern Indiana.
Make sure to complete a tick check when you return from outdoor activities. The check should include your pets, if they accompanied you!
Have you found a tick? Would you like to send it us? Click here to read about the Tick INsiders project and how to send ticks to Purdue.
A reminder that the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) that transmits Lyme disease can become active when the snow melts and temperatures increase. Members of the Tick INsiders team collected several black-legged ticks late February and early March from parks in northern Indiana. If it’s a nice day for a walk, you might meet a tick! Make sure to complete a tick check when you return. The check should include your pets!
Photo credit: Dr. Catherine A. Hill, Tick INsiders team
Have you found a tick? Would you like to send it us? Click here to read about the Tick INsiders project and how to send ticks to Purdue.
To date, the Tick INsiders team has received more than 200 tick samples from across the state. Samples include Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick), Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick) and Ixodes scapularis (black-legged tick). We are currently cataloguing samples. Samples will be processed as we return to research operations. A huge thank you to our many engaged community scientists for your help to better understand ticks and tick-borne diseases in Indiana!
Our award for the highest number of ticks collected in a single season goes to one of our high school participant from Washington county who collected many Amblyomma americanum in 2019. Thank you for helping us to learn more about ticks and tick-borne diseases in Indiana!
Looking for something to do this Spring, Summer and Fall? The 2020 tick season is about to get underway across the state. Help us learn more about the distribution of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Indiana by collecting and sending us ticks!
More details coming soon…
Tick INsiders was excited to host 19 high school students on the Purdue West Lafayette campus for the first Tick INsiders Bootcamp, a science immersion in the biology of ticks and tick-borne diseases and tick collection techniques.
The Tick INsiders team is enthusiastic to have received our first batch of ticks from a community scientist like yourself and is looking forward to receiving more!!
Make sure to check out the map for current year’s collection here.
The Tick INsiders team will be at Purdue Spring Fest 2019! We will be setup in front of Smith Hall. Click here for the Spring Fest Map. We can’t wait to share about Tick INsiders, what the team has been up to, and how you can get involved as community scientist!
Here is photo of Jasleen from a previous Spring Fest. Photo curtesy to John Obermeyer, IPM Specialist, Purdue University.
Jasleen Kaur at Spring Fest
Dr. Maria Murgia, Lead Scientist (Microbiome), gave a talk on “Next Generation Sequencing for surveillance of tick-borne diseases: exploring the bacterial micro biome of Indiana ticks” at Indiana Vector Control Association’s 2018 Conference in Syracuse, Indiana.
She introduced the Tick INsiders project and presented the results of the microbiome study done on ticks collected during 2017-2018.
Here is a photo of Dr. Murgia at the conference, Syracuse, Indiana.
Dr. Maria Murgia at IVCA 43rd Conference, 2019
