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Tick - Any one of numerous species of large parasitic mites which attatch themselves to, and suck the blood of, cattle, dogs, and many other animals. |
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Larger, adult stage deer ticks are back with a vengeance |
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| All ticks come in small, medium and large sizes, but autumn is the time that adult stage blacklegged (aka deer) ticks become active. People often think that bugs, especially bloodsuckers like mosquitoes and ticks, are killed with the first hard frost of fall, but that is just what brings adult deer ticks out in abundance. In the northeastern United States, adult deer ticks are likely to be the most common tick you encounter from October to April. Read More... | ||
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Five Tick Diseases You Should Know About |
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| Lyme disease isn't the only tick-transmitted disease causing concern around the USA this summer. In a recent article published on FoxNews.com, URI TickEncounter Resource Center's Thomas Mather helps journalist Marrecca Fiore (URI '97, Journalism) explain the regional nature of tick-transmitted diseases and what to look out for if you are bitten by a tick. Read More... | ||
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URI entomologist predicts early tick season, high infection rate |
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| A University of Rhode Island tick expert believes that several ecological factors are likely to make 2008 a big year for ticks and disease, so he advises Rhode Islanders to develop an action plan for taking appropriate precautions to reduce their chances of being bitten. Read More... | ||
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Apple Pickers Foundation donates $100,000 to URI to support public education about Lyme disease prevention |
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| A private charitable foundation based in Westerly has made a $100,000 contribution to the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector-Borne Disease in support of the Center's public health education program for preventing tick bites and Lyme disease. The Apple Pickers Foundation, established by Michael and John Warburg of Westerly, made the contribution after meeting with URI Entomology Professor Thomas Mather, director of the Center, and learning about his numerous outreach programs aimed at reducing the risk of contracting Lyme disease. Read More... | ||
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Clothing-Only Tick Repellent Put To Test |
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| Try and picture this- 15 volunteers sitting in a room waiting for a hoard of tiny bloodsuckers to crawl onto their bodies. The study plan called for dividing the volunteers in groups of five - five would wear commercially treated clothing provided by Buzz Off Insect Shield, five would have clothing treated using an at-home treatment kit (Sawyer Clothing Only repellent), and five would wear untreated clothing. On the second day, each team would wear different clothing. Read More... | ||
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URI entomologist to test tick repellent by making volunteers squirm, Sept. 6 & 7 |
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| Each volunteer to spend 2 hours with 30 ticks crawling on skin. University of Rhode Island tick expert Thomas Mather, director of the URI Center for Vector Borne Disease, and staff, along with 15 research volunteers (mostly URI students) will test the effectiveness of a "clothing-only" tick repellent. Read More... | ||
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A dramatic surge seen in the island's deer tick population, August 2, 2007 |
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| Deer ticks are down in number to date this year across Rhode Island, according to sampling studies taken recently through the University of Rhode Island. Counts of the noted carriers of Lyme disease, however, are significantly higher in parts of Newport County, and in particular, Jamestown. Read More... | ||
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URI researcher : Tick abundance running below average in Rhode Island, but Lyme disease risk still high, June 21, 2007 |
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| Deer tick abundance in Rhode Island is running 22 percent lower this year as compared to this same time last year, according to preliminary results from URI's statewide Tick Encounter Risk Survey. So far, the first of two planned samples have been collected at 40 of 61 sites distributed around the state. Read More... | ||
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He Wants Ticks To Be Taken More SeriouslyBy Andrew Rimas, Globe Correspondent Boston Globe |
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| Blood-sucking insects weren't Tom Mather's earliest love. As an undergraduate in Pennsylvania's Muhlenberg College, he started his academic life as a history major. But the future professor of Entomology at the University of Rhode Island (and unofficial tick guru of New England) was looking for a nobler calling. "My parents left me with the idea that you should do something good for the world," he said. "So, it became my role to prevent disease transmission through the bites of blood-sucking insects." Read More... | ||
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Time To Take Action Against Ticksby Thomas N. Mather, Ph.D. |
| 717,614 - that's the number of Rhode Islanders currently at risk for encountering a deer tick where they live. Officially known as black-legged ticks, they transmit Lyme disease, babesiosis and anaplasmosis. Lyme disease is the most common tick-transmitted infection, and now, in 2006, 68% of the state's population is at risk in their own backyards. Read More... |
