Pest Alert on Ticks, Tick-Borne Diseases

An updated pest alert on ticks and tick-borne diseases is now available, courtesy of the North Central Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Center—one of the other three regional IPM centers funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA).

According to the pest alert:

“Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBDs) pose a major public health concern in the United States. Sixteen of the eighteen TBDs in the U.S. are known to infect humans. The most recent data shows that Lyme disease accounts for approximately 67 percent of all reported human vector-borne disease, with an estimated 476,000 cases annually.”

The pest alert contains information on tick life cycles, ranges of various tick species and identification guides (with photos), disease symptoms and prevention, and proper, effective removal of attached ticks.

The document is available on the North Central IPM Center’s website in web page and PDF formats. The PDF is designed as a two-page handout and free printed copies are available upon request.

Visit www.ncipmc.org/projects/pest-alerts/ticks-and-tick-borne-diseases/ for more information.

This pest alert was created by the Public Tick IPM Working Group in collaboration with the IPM Institute and the regional IPM centers with funding from USDA-NIFA.