TickSpotter Website Helping Public & Researchers
By: Tim Studebaker
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Twitter: @TStudebakerABC6
Email: tstudebaker@abc6.com
KINGSTON, R.I. (WLNE) – The wave of panic is all too familiar for anyone who has ever found a tick on themselves or a pet.
URI TickEnounter Resource Center Director Dr. Thomas Mather says, “People are finding more ticks than ever, and they don’t know what to do about it.”
Your mind starts racing with thoughts of Lyme Disease and other health problems as you frantically search the internet for help. That’s where the URI TickSpotters program and its three–person team come in.
Mather says, “All of a sudden, there’s a need for people to have access to a tick expert.”
Visitors to the TickSpotter website have the chance to describe when, where, and how they came across a tick. They can also send in a picture.
Mather says, “We confirm the ID. We tell them what the likely risk is from a tick like theirs.”
The team also suggests steps you can take to make sure your bases are covered. The program is gaining traction since it started four years ago.
Mather says, “The power of the crowd really is the beauty of this program, because we can’t necessarily go every place and sample every tick where they might be. But, people are doing that throughout their daily lives.”
With reports pouring in, the team can monitor hot spots and changing trends as ticks move around. That recently came into play when a tick that had been isolated to Prudence Island and Jamestown showed up in Warwick.
Last night, one of the tick spotter submissions from Warwick was a male Lone Star tick.
Based on latest trends and weather conditions, Mather expects a slightly above average tick season this year.
© WLNE-TV / ABC6 2018
