American Dog Tick is Active!!

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.

Tick season 2021 has started!

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.

Thank you to our Community Scientists!

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!

Ticks are Here!!

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.

Purdue Spring Fest 2019

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

Tick INsiders at IVCA!!

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