The Department of Public Health will be conducting tick and mosquito surveillance through September in county parks. This research involves tick drags, where a tick cloth is dragged along the trail edge, and placing 24-hour mosquito traps at various sites. Identified tick and mosquito pools will be tested for Lyme disease and West Nile virus by the state. These results, along with data from other counties, will be used by the state to produce arbovirus summaries available at michigan.gov/emergingdiseases

If you notice this activity taking place in a park, please allow space for the surveillance to be carried out.

Mosquito trapping methods used by the Department of Public Health.

Tick Talk: Ticks in West Michigan

June 29 from 3-4 pm at Hemlock Crossing

Conducting tick research in an Ottawa County Park

For those interested in delving deeper into tick research, learn more during the upcoming Tick Talk event. Join Dr. Will Miller, a wildlife biologist from Calvin University, to learn about the spread of ticks in west Michigan and how we are tracking them.

Dr. Miller has been tracking blacklegged tick populations over the past five years in Ottawa County and beyond! He will discuss the ecology of blacklegged ticks in west Michigan, and will be sharing how his team, and others across the state, track tick populations through environmental and wildlife samples. He will also discuss what you can do to minimize exposure to ticks when out on the trails!

Registration is encouraged. Click here to sign up!