Mass. college students working with CDC to surveil ticks, track how they move

AMHERST, Mass. — Local student researchers are helping the CDC figure out where ticks are and how they are moving through our area.

A 10-million-dollar federal grant was awarded to the University of Massachusetts, where students will lead the study called Project ITCH, which stands for “Is Tick Control Helping”.

Inside the Department of Microbiology at UMass Amherst students work to better understand what makes a tick tick.

The students are now working with Dr. Stephen Rich on a $10 million CDC study called Project ITCH – Is Tick Control Helping?

“They are the most important vectors of disease in North America,” said Rich. “So we really have to do something to reduce the numbers in order to reduce the incidents of disease.”

Project ITCH has two phases.

First to survey homeowners in all six New England states to find out what they are doing to reduce the incidence of ticks and tick bites. Ranging from hiring a company to what they are doing in their yards.

“Grass short, putting boundaries around like a mulch boundary around the outside,” explained Rich.

In phase two – students return to the surveyed yards to check tick activity. “We drag a piece of cloth across the vegetation, the ticks jump on and we can count the number of ticks and quantitate and say this site had this many and this site had that money and compare treated and untreated.”

When they return to collect the ticks they usually target brush areas right on the edge of the sun and shade.

“It’s very simple as just dragging your flag around. Some areas are better than others and other times are going to be better than others,” said one of the students.

Project ITCH runs for five years. Dr. Rich says the goal is to better utilize what tick mediation works best so everyone can pitch in.

“We’ll figure out what is working, where it is working, and when it is working,” said Rich.

You can participate in the program by doing the survey on what you are doing to mediate ticks - Project ITCH survey.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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