The Missouri Department of Conservation and A.T. Still University are asking Missouri deer hunters to save ticks they find – especially deer ticks – and send them to the University for research about ticks and pathogens they may carry.

According to MDC ticks are large mites that drink the blood of humans and other mammals. Ticks can also carry and spread pathogens that cause illnesses in people. The three most common species of ticks in Missouri include the lone star tick, American dog tick and deer tick/blacklegged tick.

Officials say deer ticks are the primary transmitter of a bacterial infection, known as Lyme disease.

To help with the research efforts, individuals are asked to place live ticks in a plastic zip-top bag with a piece of damp paper towel or moist cotton ball, then fold the bag and place it inside another plastic zip-top bag with a completed sample-submission form.

The sample-submission form is available for printing from the University’s website at www.atsu.edu/missouri-ticks-and-tick-borne-pathogen-surveillance-research.

Individuals can place the bag and completed sample-submission form in an envelope and mail it to: A.T. Still University, ATTENTION: Deb Hudman — Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology, 800 W. Jefferson St., Kirksville MO 63501.