Marshfield Clinic Research Institute Wants Ticks

Thursday, April 18th, 2024 -- 2:00 PM

(Keith Uhlig, Marshfield News-Herald) Don't stomp it. Don't squish it. Don't flush it. The Marshfield Clinic wants that tick.

According to Keith Uhlig with the Marshfield News-Herald, specifically, the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute wants not only that tick, but any others people find across Wisconsin.

The Institute, the largest private medical research organization in the state, is asking people to submit ticks for a project it's calling Tick Inventory via Citizen Science. The effort will study the distribution of ticks to determine the extent that new and invasive ticks are moving into Wisconsin.

The study also will determine if the ticks are carrying pathogens that cause illnesses such as Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, bacterial infections that cause fever, headaches and fatigue, and babesiosis, an infection of red blood cells by microscopic parasites, which can cause flu-like symptoms. Researchers say the study is connected to long-term warming trends associated with climate change.

In order to take part in the study, people can place any ticks, dead or alive, in a collection kit and send it by mail to the institute. Postage on the kits are prepaid. Collection kits are available now at:

• The George W. Mead Wildlife Area's visitor and education center, S2148 Marathon County S in Milladore;
• Castlerock Veterinary Hospital, 1214 S. Oak Ave. in Marshfield;
• And Rib Mountain State Park, 149801 State Park Road in Rib Mountain.

People can also request a kit or get more information by calling 715-389-7796 Ext. 16462 or by emailing [email protected].

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.