by Genomic Sequencing Lab | MI-SAPPHIRE Grant
The Crowdsourcing Ticks Project at Michigan Tech is being continued throughout fall 2023 due to a sharp increase in the number of adult ticks.
The Genomic Sequencing Lab at MTU wants ticks from you, your family and your pets. The goal of this project is to identify the prevalence of tick-borne illnesses in the Copper Country. Through the fall, please bring any ticks you find to the collection box on the Michigan Tech campus:
- Collection Box Location: U. J. Noblet Forestry Building — Main Entrance
Current Results from Community Tick Submission
Of 891 ticks collected and submitted to the lab, current testing results are as follows:
- 135 Lyme positive ticks
- 42 Anaplasma positive ticks
- 299 Rickettsia positive ticks
- 8 positives for Ehrlichia
- 0 positives for Babesia and Tularemia
Top locations for disease-positive ticks include Maasto Hiihto Trails, Chassell, Stanton-Liminga Road and Pilgrim River Trails. Several disease-positive ticks were submitted from unknown locations. Please note that not all Rickettsia bacteria cause disease — we will be performing sequencing analysis to determine the types of Rickettsia found in those ticks.
If you have any questions, please contact Aimee Marceau, sequencing lab lead, at ahmarcea@mtu.edu.
How to Remove and Preserve Ticks
- Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
- Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause its mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth parts with tweezers. If you cannot remove the mouth easily with tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
- After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
- Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by:
- Placing it in a sealed plastic storage bag. Multiple ticks from the same location can be placed in the same bag.
- Once the tick is sealed inside the plastic storage bag, bring it to a drop-off point within eight hours or place the bag with the tick in a freezer until dropping it off at Michigan Tech.
- Follow the directions at the drop-off site to ensure the tick is properly preserved.