Memorial Day marked start of tick season
Date: 05.28.2013
URI Professor Tom Mather and his team began their annual tick counting on Tuesday, as the team researched the effectiveness of yard tick treatments. Channel 12, WPRI caught up with Dr. Mather and his tick crew while sampling at one of 75 yards in South Kingston, Rhode Island.
TERC in the News! Radio Boston Interviews Dr. Thomas Mather
Meghna Chakrabarti of Radio Boston interviews Dr. Thomas Mather about Lyme disease, the role of deer and mice in tickborne disease, tick habitat and life cycle, and finally TickSmart prevention strategies.
New tickborne disease recognized in the northeastern USA.
Date: 01.17.2013
It's NOT Lyme but a relapsing fever illness caused by the bacterium Borrelia miyamotoi.
Golf Course Superintendents Association of New England invites TickEncounter to help them get TickSmart!
Date: 11.20.2012
Fall signals the return of adult stage Deer ticks in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. It's also that time of year when golfers put on an extra layer and brave the colder temperatures to hit the links.
Tick LARVAE! They're Early, They're Tiny, They're Everywhere - RIGHT NOW!
Date: 08.01.2012
All ticks come in small, medium and large size. And late summer is when the small-sized (nearly microscopic-small) ticks have their season -- both Deer ticks and Lone Star ticks. They're called larvae but some also refer to them as “seed ticks”. They hatch from eggs, and since tick eggs are laid in batches of 1,500 - 5,000 eggs or more, you're not likely to encounter just one or even just a few larvae at a time. It's more likely to be HUNDREDS!
URI entomologist says deer tick numbers are up significantly statewide, increasing risk of contracting Lyme disease
Date: 07.06.2012
By: Todd McLeish
"Tick abundance is really high this year, and that means that people need to get TickSmart," said Mather, referring to TickEncounter's newest public education and call to action campaign for Rhode Island. "Get TickSmart, and stay TickSafe", Mather said about his program's newest effort. "So many people either believe they already know the best way to prevent tick bites, or they don't believe ticks will bite them. The tick bite protection practices used by most folks are just not appropriate or enough for preventing bites from nymphal stage deer ticks.
The Health Show on WAMC with Bob Barrett and Dr. Nina Sax
Date: 05.23.2012
"Ticks are blooming- how are you going to stay safe?" Dr. Mather will be on The Health Show 5/24 and 5/27 talking ticks with Bob Barrett and Dr. Nina Sax. The Health Show is a nationally syndicated public radio program produced by the National Productions unit at Northeast Public Radio.
Protecting your pet from tick bites? Shouldn't you be protecting yourself, too?
If you're already protecting your pet from tick bites, that's good, but shouldn't you be protecting yourself, too? Believe it or not, informal surveys of more than one hundred people walking their dogs in blacklegged tick habitats show that more people protect their dogs from tick bites using topical treatments than are protecting themselves.
Winter ticks affecting Maine moose population
Article on SunJournal.com by Terry Karkos reveals Winter tick problem in Maine.
"Winter tick "cluster bombs" in the tens of thousands have ambushed moose this month and last. The arachnids are taking their first blood meal and settling in for the winter.
Maine wildlife biologists Chuck Hulsey and Lee Kantar are hoping for a long, cold winter with snow lingering on the ground through April.
More Information (Video) : Winter ticks affecting Maine moose population
URI entomologist to establish test site
Date: 11.30.2011Although winter is fast approaching, disease-carrying deer ticks are still active and abundant in southern New England, where a University of Rhode Island researcher has been collecting adult deer ticks at a rate of more than 350 per hour while walking in the woods, along parkland paths, and even on local roadsides in recent weeks.
How NOT to Remove a Tick, do NOT burn them off!
Date: 11.14.2011The most common response to our "how to remove a tick safely" video suggest to burn the tick in order to remove it. Our testing staff at TickEncounter have tried more than a dozen reportedly foolproof methods for tick removal. Learn why burning the tick is not the correct method!
Top 10 Things Everyone Should Know About Ticks These Days
Date: 09.27.2011Once attached to people or pets, deer ticks are just hard to find! Their numbers are on the rise and they occur in more & more places – even your backyard! Read our "Top 10 Things Everyone Should Know About Ticks These Days" and stay disease-free.
Another tickborne disease causing relapsing fever?
Date: 09.22.2011Doctors in southern Rhode Island and other states in the northeastern United States occasionally report to TickEncounter that they've seen a case of non-Lyme (no bulls-eye, negative blood test), non-Anaplasma, summertime flu-like febrile illness that responds well to doxycycline therapy. Patients recover but what caused the illness?
News from TERC: 2010 & 2011
- Learn more about the Deer tick life cycle
- 02.08.2011 Tick Bite Patch: RI Science & Technology Advisory Council Funds Project Looking For Solution To The Tick Problem In Rhode Island, And Beyond
- 03.07.2011 March: New Tick Season Imminent: Your Tick Bite Protection Action Plan?
- 06.01.2011 Deer tick nymphs are back!
- 12.06.2010 Suburbs See Uptick In Ticks
- 11.01.2010 Does "killing frost" kill deer ticks?
- 10.15.2010 URI entomologist awarded federal contract for tick control project in Jamestown
- 06.29.2010 RI Senator Jack Reed hosted a press event at Hasbro Childrens Hospital
- 08.23.2010 Threat of Lyme disease widens: Number of cases jumps in [Massachusetts] counties farther inland
- 05.12.2010 Avoid Getting Tick-ed Off: May Is Lyme Disease Awareness Month
- 05.04.2010 Chronic Lyme Clinic in RI
Rare tick disease cases on rise in Rhode Island
Date: 07.26.2011
Article by: David Klepper
"More Rhode Islanders are testing positive for a little-known tick disease that is related to malaria, health specialists said yesterday."
Once Rare, Infection by Tick Bites Spreads
Date: 06.20.2011
Written By Laurie Tarkan"A potentially devastating infection caused by tick bites has gained a foothold in the Lower Hudson Valley and in coastal areas of the Northeast, government researchers have found."
Tick Bite Patch: RI Science & Technology Advisory Council Funds Project Looking For Solution To The Tick Problem In Rhode Island, And Beyond
Date: 02.08.2011
Development of the "Tick Bite Patch", a transdermal delivery system for anti-tick vaccines, is an all-Rhode Island collaboration between three well-established laboratories at the University of Rhode Island and two early-stage Rhode Island-based biotechnology companies.
RI-STAC funds will help the team develop proof of concept and early-stage prototypes for an anti-tick vaccine and transdermal delivery system. Prior work has shown that ticks use molecules found in their saliva to manipulate host immune defenses, helping the tick to steal blood, and in the process, transmit pathogens.
New Photo Album: Road side tick collecting
Date: 10.21.2010
On Tuesday, we stopped on South Road on the way to URI in order to check for adult stage Deer ticks. We were able to collect about 20 ticks in 5 minutes! October is most certainly a big month for adult stage Deer ticks!
Visit our Facebook page if you'd like to see pictures of this brief endeavor.
Martha Relies on TickEncounter Tips To Remove Ticks Safely
Date: 10.05.2010
Finding a tick on your pet, or especially on YOU, can be shocking. Most people are disgusted by ticks, and removing attached ticks can be worrisome...
The Martha Stewart Show airing October 5, 2010 had a segment about preventing flea and tick bites on your pets that featured TickEncounter's popular tick removal video.
HowStuffWorks.com: Stuff You Should Know podcast about "Why Ticks Suck"
Date: 08.01.2010
Charles W. Bryant and Josh Clark from the HowStuffWorks.com Stuff You Should Know podcast released a show called "Why Ticks Suck". The podcast covers a range of topics, from tick biology, tick questing, tick removal (rumors and best practices), insect repellents, tick life cycle and feeding, how ticks transmit disease, and more.
We've put together a group of images to go along with the show so you can see some of the things they are talking about. We'd like to thank Josh and Chuck for putting together this information for their podcast. We encourage everyone to open and view our stunning images while listening to Chuck and Josh's podcast. After the podcast, be sure to review TERC's best practices for tick-bite protection year-round.