With University of Rhode Island Professor of Entomology Tom Mather warning that a tough tick season is looming this spring and summer, he also wants you to know that help is as close as the Internet or cellular data by using his TickSpotters program.
With your smartphone or camera, simply take a photo of a tick that you find on your skin or clothes and send it to TickSpotters.
Mather, a nationally renowned tick expert, director of the URI Center for Vector-Borne Disease and its popular TickEncounter Resource Center, works with doctoral graduate student Heather Kopsco and other team members to examine photos and provide an identification confirmation, a personalized risk assessment and case-appropriate prevention educational information at no charge to help people determine what their next steps could be.