Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Community and Urban Pest Management: public health

• Human Health: workers, residents, applicators

Target Pests

Practices

• Pest Management: behavioral control, botanical pesticides, exclusion, habitat modification, monitoring/scouting, prevention

a) Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBDs) pose a major public health risk to people, pets and livestock in the North Central region. TBDs account for approximately 75% of all vector-borne diseases reported to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) each year (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2020). The North Central region is home to six different tick species and ten TBDs. Each state in the North Central region has at least three confirmed species of ticks.

The geographic range of ticks and TBDs continues to expand (North Central IPM Center 2018). The rise in global temperature is a primary cause of this expanding range. The warming climate increases the survival and activity period of ticks, increases the distance covered by reservoir and tick hosts (i.e. mice and deer) and increases tick exposure, since the duration of the season when people may be exposed to ticks expands (Bourchard et al. 2019). Conventional tick management focuses on short-term suppression over a small geographic area with chemical control. Regions at risk from increasing TBDs require continual surveillance, education and prevention - three integral parts of Integrated Tick Management (ITM).

b) The Public Tick IPM Working Group organizes to expand the network of stakeholders working to improve tick management strategies and reduce the risk of exposure to infected ticks. The working group addresses the North Central IPM Center’s priorities of “Increase knowledge and resources in invasive species management, while prioritizing emerging and re-emerging pests throughout the nation,” “Increase and improve outreach and resources to slow the development of pest resistance in the region,” “Improve and advocate for advanced technologies that address IPM issues” and “Identify and communicate with diverse audiences and expand innovation throughout all levels of IPM” (NCIPMC Priorities 2021).

The Public Tick IPM Working Group provides a platform for federal and non-federal members to collaborate on TBD control. The working group has been continually funded by the North Central IPM Center since 2013 and brings together a range of perspectives, including researchers, policy advocates, industry professionals, government leaders and public health professionals, that may not otherwise collaborate with each other. The working group supports and coordinates these parties by maintaining and publishing stakeholder priorities and undertaking projects that address one or more of those priorities. 

c) The Public Tick IPM Working Groups objectives are to: 1) Increase awareness about Tick IPM strategies among working group members and public health professionals; 2) Host the second annual Tick Academy in Minneapolis-St. Paul in 2021; 3) Develop continuing education opportunities for public health professional organization members and working group members; 4) Increase awareness among working group members and public health professional about the Asian longhorned tick and potential public health impacts by publishing a National Pest Alert.

d) The anticipated impact of this working group is to increase awareness of new and existing IPM strategies to control ticks and a reduction in tick-borne disease incidence by providing open access to a large network of tick resources.

The Public Tick IPM Working Groups objectives are to:

1) Increase awareness about Tick IPM strategies among working group members and public health professionals;

2) Host the second annual Tick Academy in Minneapolis-St. Paul in 2021; 

3)  Develop continuing education opportunities for public health professional organization members and working group members; 

4) Increase awareness among working group members and public health professional about the Asian longhorned tick and potential public health impacts by publishing a National Pest Alert.