During the May “Pests and Progress” webinar, Scott Larson, co-director of the Tick IPM Working Group, spoke about efforts to control ticks and reduce the spread of tick-borne diseases. Ticks cause problems for livestock, wildlife and pets, and they can also transmit disease to people. Lyme disease is the most common. The cost of treating Lyme disease is $345 and $968 million dollars annually in the United States.
The Tick IPM Working Group was formed in 2013 and has five goals to help address the threat and costs of tick-borne diseases:
• Educate policymakers about tick diseases
• Improve community education on tick ecology and management
• Increase tick-borne disease funding
• Develop and promote IPM strategies to reduce exposure to ticks and tick pathogens
• Coordinate with the federal Tick-Borne Disease IPM Working Group
The Tick IPM Working Group hosts a free webinar on the second Wednesday each month from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm EDT (1:00 pm to 2:00 pm CDT). These webinars often focus on recent tick research. Each year, a “Tick Academy” event is organized by the working group, and the workshop is designed to transform a tick novice into a professional who is knowledgeable about tick biology and behavior and can even identify several tick species. Additional topics are covered each year, such as how fire management affects ticks and a “tick-bot” that vacuums up ticks from the landscape. The 2023 Tick Academy will be held virtually in October.
Tick handouts and publications are also available thanks to the Tick IPM Working Group, including a tick management publication, the “Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases Pest Alert” and the “Asian Longhorned Tick Pest Alert.”
Larson also covered tick management methods during the webinar, including options for treating wildlife to reduce tick populations. He even included facts that will help you dominate tick trivia night:
• White-tailed deer don’t get Lyme disease. Their blood kills the pathogen.
• There are around 90 tick species in the United States, but only a few will feed on people.
• There are hard and soft ticks, but we usually hear about hard ticks because people encounter them more often.
• The three most common ticks in the US are blacklegged ticks, lone star ticks and American dog ticks.
Stay informed about tick news by following @IpmTick on Twitter, and you are also invited to join the Tick IPM Working Group to receive webinar notifications, along with tick-related research, news and resources. Email Leah McSherry to be added to working group communications.
The webinar recording is available here.
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