You may have already noticed tick season is underway if you've caught one of these arachnids scurrying across your arm or latched.
Tick season is conventionally April through July, but they can be found throughout the year. Known for drinking blood from humans and other mammals, ticks can carry deadly diseases, like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Ehrlichiosis, Bourbon virus, Heartland virus, and other diseases.
A.T. Still University in Kirksville started collecting ticks April 2021 in an effort to create a database for what tick species are present at a county level and which ones folks are interacting with, said Senior Research Associate Deborah Hudman.