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URI entomologist to test tick repellent by making volunteers squirm, Sept. 6 & 7
September 4, 2007
Each volunteer to spend 2 hours with 30 ticks crawling on skin
WHO: University of Rhode Island tick expert Thomas Mather, director of the URI Center for Vector Borne Disease, and staff, along with 15 research volunteers (mostly URI students).
WHAT: Mather will test the effectiveness of a "clothing-only" tick repellent by dressing volunteers in summer clothing, including shorts and t-shirts, some of which have been treated with the repellent. Thirty ticks will be placed on the foot, arm and leg of each volunteer for two hours, during which time the volunteers will sit, stand, and walk in place to simulate time spent outdoors. At the end of the two-hour period, the ticks will be retrieved to determine how many died or dropped off the volunteers. All of the lab-raised ticks used in the study have been tested and determined to be pathogen-free.
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 6 and Friday, Sept. 7. Ticks will be placed on the volunteers at about 2:30 p.m. both days, and subjects will be check for attached ticks around 5:00.
WHERE: The atrium (Atrium 1) of the URI Memorial Union, 50 Lower College Rd., Kingston, R.I.
CONTACT: For information about covering this event, contact Todd McLeish in the URI Department of Communications & Marketing at 401-874-7892 or tmcleish@uri.edu.
Current Tick Activity in the Northeast and mid-West United States
February update: Adult stage Deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are not killed by freezing temperatures! During winter months they can still be active on days when temperatures are above freezing. Activity resumes following several consecutive days of thawing temperatures, especially if the ground thaws. 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.
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?
