How to avoid tick bites this summer in Wisconsin

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - An app that lets you share tick encounters year round, aims to help you prevent getting tick bites this summer. The Tick App is a tick exposure study done by research teams at University of Wisconsin-Madison and Columbia University. It launched in 2018 and is focused on the Midwest and Northeast regions of the U.S., but anyone can use the app.

“We are very concerned in our state about the risk of Lyme disease and other tick-born diseases that are transmitted by the deer tick here, which is a really abundant species in our part of the Midwest,” said Susan Paskewitz, Entomology Professor at UW-Madison.

Officials say the high-risk months for ticks are from May to September. Researchers say the app does two things, benefiting both research teams, and users.

“To help us answer some of the questions that we have about what people are doing to protect themselves from ticks in our respective regions, as well as what they’re doing when they actually are encountering ticks,” Paskewitz said.

You can see where and when ticks are active in your area, read up on prevention tips, or how to remove a tick. If you encounter a tick, you can report it right through the app by submitting photos.

“So they can take a photograph, they send it to the tick experts at the other end through the app and then we will give them a response in terms of what it is they’ve picked up. Whether it’s the tick that transmits Lyme disease, or another tick that might be common in our areas that is not so risky in terms of disease,” Paskewitz explained.

Officials at Heckrodt Wildlife Preserve in Menasha said taking simple steps helps prevent the spread of tick-borne diseases.

“Wear bugspray and do your nightly tick checks, is very, very important to always check for ticks if you’re outside, even in your yards, you can still get ticks,” said Andrea Bierbrauer, Naturalist at Heckrodt Wildlife Preserve.

To download the Tick App and find more information, click here.