Tick season is here!
Lyme disease is a growing problem.
Doing a tick check, removing ticks before they attach or as soon as possible is key.
Cole Fisher is a Lyme Disease Researcher, Environmental Health Educator and tick hunter
She works with the Lyme Disease and Tick Study happening at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, with Dr. Benjamin Clarke. They work to collect information about the ticks in the northern Midwest and Lake Superior region. (Or where ever you think you may have found a deer tick). You can see the story map of where ticks have been collected on their website.
There is much known, but still, so much mystery!
What else did we talk about
Tick dragging, Tick hunting.. What is that all about?
Where do we typically find ticks?
The stages of a tick’s life process and feeding habits.
The male tick bite is less of a risk than a female bite from a tick when it comes to getting infected with Lyme Disease from a tick.
Please don’t squeeze a tick when it is attached.
Also, be careful not to yank or twist a tick when it is on you and you are looking to get it off your body and to detach…Cole explains about local infections and other issues that action can result in.
Lyme Disease – Spirochete bacteria, A cork screw shape that this bacteria has that allows them to bore through their environment and be mobile making Lyme so problematic allowing it to travel and settle into so many parts of our body.
Different bacteria causing lime in different countries?
The ixodes outreach project.
Black legged tick, dear tick, ixodes tick… these are all the same thing
How long does a tick have to be attached to create the greatest opportunity for a person to get Lyme.
Tick checks… a critical part of prevention.
Ticks eat 3 times in their life and need to breath 1x a day! …WOW!
The bulls eye rash…. Some get it and some do not.
Other tick born illnesses in MN and symptoms to pay attention to.
A short history of Lyme
The ixodes project! Be a part of the study… help your community. They encourage the community to engage in this process to track types of ticks and to learn more about where the ticks tend to be and the percentage of the ticks potentially carrying the bacteria|
You can request a tick kit… OR, make your own.
If you collect tick(s) to send in include this information…
WHERE you found the tick… be as specific as possible.
Coordinates are GREAT if you can get them… but a state park or intersections are helpful as well.
WHEN you found it
ATTACHED? Was it attached to a human, dog, horse?
You can share your contact to learn more about what they know when they find out if it carries Lyme bacteria.
TO GET A TICK TEST KIT or for community outreach presentation requests
ixodesOutreach@d.umn.edu
Story Map Webiste
Z.umn.edu/ixodes
Article for further information
https://med.umn.edu/news-events/medical-bulletin/targeting-ticks
CDC Prevention Tick and Mosquito Bites
https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dvbd/about/prevent-bites.html
MN department of health information
https://www.health.state.mn.us/ticks
Video for kids
https://umn.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=0649ee6729344d7e8eab971ea28b7576
Lyme Disease Support Group in Duluth, MN
https://www.minnesotahelp.info/Providers/DuluthSuperior_Lyme_Disease_Support_Group/Support_Group_Lyme_Disease/1?returnUrl=%2FMap%2FTopics%2FPN-8050.3300%2FIn_Person_Support_Groups%3F