How MMCD Monitors Tick Populations via Dragging to Track Tick-Borne Diseases

Mosquitoes aren't the only insects that can carry harmful diseases - MMCD also monitors tick populations throughout the seven-county metro area. Ticks, like mosquitoes, are known as vectors, or organisms that transmit one thing to another. In this case, ticks can spread diseases from animals to humans by biting and attaching to the skin. 

MMCD's tick surveillance program locates ticks in the wild using a variety of techniques, identifies them and the diseases they carry, and tracks how those populations grow and change over time. By being aware of where the ticks are and what they carry, we can then be more precise in avoiding them and their diseases. 

One tick collection technique involves the trapping of small mammals such as mice, and gathering any ticks that have attached to them. Another technique, tick dragging, simulates a large animal moving through the underbrush by trailing squares of fabric along the ground and collecting any ticks that attach to it. 

Jordan Mandli (Vector Ecologist), Scott Larson (District Entomologist), and Nickie Gerken (Tick Technician) make up part of the tick surveillance team based out of our St. Paul office. Together, they explain the entire process of tick dragging, and the important steps everyone can take to better protect themselves from tick-borne illnesses. 

Read more about the tick program, dragging, and other collection techniques on our Tick Surveillance webpage, and in our F.A.Q.s

Watch the Tick Surveillance Program video on YouTube!

Credits

PRODUCED and EDITED by: Abigail Brown, MMCD Public Affairs Assistant

FEATURING: Jordan Mandli (Vector Ecologist), Scott Larson (District Entomologist), Nickie Gerken (Tick Technician)