Read our Top 10 Things Everyone Should Know About Ticks These Days and stay disease-free.
Think TICK... Take ACTION! Toolbox
The TickEncounter Resource Center (TERC) "Think TICK...Take Action! Toolbox" is full of strategies for tick bite protection and disease prevention.
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 Tweezers |
 Inspect |
 Clothing Repellent |
 Kill the critters |
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Use pointy tweezers for safe removal. |
Check your body for ticks at least once a day.
Watch our documentary
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Use repellents with permethrin on clothing, not skin. |
Spray the tick habitat around the perimeter of your yard.
How do I protect myself and family
, my yard
, my pets
against ticks?
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Highlighted News from TERC
Read past news stories, watch interviews, and learn about upcoming events in the News section.
URI entomologist to establish test site for assessing effectiveness of tick control strategies
Date: 11.30.2011
Although 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.
"It's further evidence that the old rules about when and where ticks are active and how to avoid ticks don't apply," said Thomas Mather, URI professor of entomology and director of the Center for Vector-Borne Disease. "We are definitely seeing a continuing trend of finding more ticks in more places. That means that people are having more tick encounters than ever before, so more than ever they need to take precautionary measures."
Mather has just been awarded an $875,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control to conduct studies and develop tools that will help residents choose the best tick control strategies for their needs.
A tick with wings?
Date: 11.28.2011
What's flat like a tick, sucks blood like a tick, gets on deer like a tick, but isn't a tick?? Find out in our latest Tick Notes story!
Send us a tweet or let us know on Facebook if you've ever encountered one of these!
Ticks are crawling up my walls. Help!!
Date: 11.24.2011
"We removed about 10 ticks from our small Chihuahua but didn't know what they were. Three days before finding the ticks on the dog I found a tick crawling up our wall. Where did they come from and how do I get rid of these horrible things. This infestation is driving me up the wall!!"
Read our Tick Notes story about how tick infestations could happen in your home!
How NOT to Remove a Tick
Date: 11.14.2011
The 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 Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Ticks These Days
Date: 09.27.2011
Once 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 Tick-Borne Disease? Borrelia miyamotoi may cause relapsing fever in humans
Date: 09.22.2011
Doctors 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?
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."
WPRI: Tick season in full swing
Date: 07.19.2011
Reported by: Nicole Estaphan
"It's summer, and that means it's tick season. The little bugs can pack a big punch if you're not careful.
'We are most concerned in Rhode Island about the nymphal stage deer tick. It transmits multiple diseases including Lyme Disease,' [Mather] said."
NYTimes Article : Once Rare, Infection by Tick Bites Spreads
Date: 06.20.2011
"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."
"The condition, called babesiosis, is a malaria-like illness that results from infection with Babesia microti, a parasite that lives in red blood cells and is carried by deer ticks. Though far less common than Lyme disease, babesiosis can be fatal, particularly in people with compromised immune systems."
Once Rare, Infection by Tick Bites Spreads Written By Laurie Tarkan
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.
Current Tick Activity in the Northeast and mid-West United States
January update: Deer tick adults are not killed by freezing temperatures! They are still active on days when temperatures are above freezing in January over much of the Northeast and mid-western USA. Learn more about the deer tick life cycle.
Let us know if you find a tick on you or your pet! Use our tick identification chart to identify tick and then visit the Current Tick Activity page to complete 2 question form.
Not from New England or mid-West? Visit our regional Current Tick Activity page for a complete view of ticks biting in your area.
TickEncounter launches new Prevention Partners program!
With more ticks in more places than ever before, your community likely faces increasing prospects for encountering disease-carrying ticks. TickEncounter Prevention Partners (TEPPs) are committed to improving the health of the communities and the people they serve.
Look who’s making a difference!
Now YOUR organization or business can become part of solving the tick problem.
A tick with wings!? What's flat like a tick, sucks blood like a tick, gets on deer like a tick, but isn't a tick?
Martha Stewart 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...
On October 5, 2010 The Martha Stewart Show aired a segment about preventing flea and tick bites on your pets that featured TickEncounter’s popular tick removal video.
Receive a free gift when you donate to TickEncounter
Get a Thank You gift when you donate $50 or more to TickEncounter this holiday. Your donation supports anti-tick research!
Thank you gift is a two pack of tick repellent socks with effective protection through 70 washes. This special offer is made possible through a generous holiday donation from our partners in tick-bite protection at Insect Shield. Wearing tick repellent ... now, as easy as getting dressed in the morning!
Happy Holidays to all from the TERC team, we thank you very much for your interest in tick-bite protection, and for your support!
Stand Up Against Lyme : URI Almuni Affinity Chapter
We've launched StandUpAgainstLyme.org, a brand new URI Almuni Affinity Chapter! Our goal is to allow URI Alumni to stand up and be counted against the spread of tick-borne disease. We strongly urge you to visit the new site and submit your story.
Signup for TERC Email Reminders
Enter your email address below to join our low volume mailing list for timely updates on tick activity, TERC events, and news.
You can view our June 1, 2011 email blast here.
TERC resources to help you learn and promote the most up-to-date, effective, tick-bite prevention techniques
TickEncounter.org Widget Program
The goal of the TERC Widget initiative is to make it easier for your web site or individual blog to spread the word about tick-bite prevention strategies and tick awareness. It's simply a matter of choosing a design that will fit into your site which will then include an embedded hyperlink to a specific section on TickEncounter.org. |
Regional Tick Identification Chart
TERC's Tick Identification Chart is your best source for determining what type of tick you've found latched onto yourself. We've added several new features to our tick id chart: higher resolution images, seasonal chart data, known diseases transmitted, and regional tick abundance combined with additional species. |
Documentary Hidden in the Leaves now on DVD
Hidden in the Leaves, directed by award-winning filmmaker Mary Healey Jamiel, is the story of University of Rhode Island entomologist Thomas Mather and his team's efforts to help people see the risks for serious tick-transmitted disease lurking in an increasing number of rural, suburban and even semi-urban landscapes in the eastern United States. |
The life cycle of Babesia microti
Babesia are malaria-like parasites transmitted by blood feeding ticks. Watch TERC's 3 minute video on YouTube, demonstrating the life cycle of Babesia microti, starting in the blood of white-footed mice, ingested by deer ticks, and finally transmitted to humans through tick saliva. |
Tick Bite-ology: Tick bite process revealed
A dozen secrets about tick piercing, sucking, and pathogen transmission revealed. |
Use the Tick Bite Locator for daily tick checks
The Tick Bite Locator is an application designed to teach you where different species of ticks tend to attach. Remember that daily tick checks are one of the best preventive measures you can take against tick-borne disease since ticks require more than more 24 hours to transmit disease. |
Monster's Inside Me: Animal Planet Series
Animal Planet interviewed Thomas Mather from our Tick Encounter Resource Center for their series "Monsters Inside Me". The show first aired on July 1, 2009 on Animal Planet. Dr. Mather was included in the episode on Babesiosis. |
How to safely remove a tick with pointy tweezers
If you find a tick attached to you, a family member, or friend, there is a proven and proper method to perform a tick removal. Read or watch our step by step guide. |
