JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – With deer hunting under way in Missouri, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and A.T. Still University in Kirksville are asking deer hunters to save ticks they find on harvested deer and mail them to the University. The ticks will be used for a scientific research study to help better understand the statewide distribution of tick species and the human pathogens they carry.
“During this time of year, we are asking the many Missouri deer hunters around the state to send us ticks they find on their harvested animals,” said MDC Ecological Health Unit Science Supervisor Matt Combes. “The University needs more samples – especially of deer ticks, also called blacklegged ticks, which are commonly found on deer this time of year.”
Ticks are large mites that drink the blood of humans and other mammals. Ticks can also carry and spread pathogens that cause illnesses in people. Missouri is home to three common species of ticks that bite humans: lone star tick, American dog tick, and deer tick (blacklegged tick). Deer ticks are the primary transmitters of a bacterial infection called Lyme disease. Adult ticks are about a quarter-inch long and grow to nearly double that when engorged with blood. Learn more about ticks from the MDC online Field Guide at nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/ticks.
MDC and A.T. Still University are partnering on a two-year research study to determine the presence of tick species throughout Missouri as well as the pathogens they may harbor. The study began in April and concludes in September 2022. During that time, MDC and the University are asking Missourians mail ticks to A.T. Still University to be identified by species and life stage and tested for four species of bacterial pathogens.
To help with the research efforts, people are asked to place live ticks
