If you have hiked in Missouri, whether it was the woods, a field, or even your own yard, it’s likely you have encountered ticks. They climb on and cling to your clothes and skin for a blood meal. Some tick species and their bacterial pathogens can also cause illness in humans.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is looking to your help to save ticks you encounter and mail them to A.T. Still University in Kirksville. The ticks will be used for a new scientific research study to help better understand the statewide distribution of tick species and the human pathogens they carry.
To help with the research effort, there is a specific manner to save and ship the little buggers—alive, not dead!
You are asked to place each live tick in a plastic zip-top bag with a piece of damp paper towel or moist cotton ball, then fold the bag and place it inside another plastic zip-top bag with a completed sample-submission form.
The sample-submission form is available for printing from the University website at www.atsu.edu
Next, place the bag and completed sample-submission form in an envelope and mail it to:
A.T. Still University
ATTENTION: Deb Hudman -- Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology
800 W. Jefferson St., Kirksville MO 63501